Planning something in the United Kingdom and taking into account the travel restrictions and the things you have to pay for regardless of how long you are staying (meaning, the day 2 COVID tests that are absolutely unregulated by the government), you think, might as well stick around for a few days and have some fun. It is the train of thought that led us to Leeds on a frankly tropical Saturday night for the north of England in September.
But the truth is, where The Maine is, chances are, I want to be.
In the middle of their tour supporting long time friends All Time Low, The Maine added an extra three headline shows in England, playing Milton Keynes (of all places in the world), Leeds, and London. After spending about ten days looking all over the Internet for spare tickets, we headed to the Key Club and had one hell of a night. I personally had only been to Key Club for a show once before, in 2017, for With Confidence's Better Weather tour, and the place is loaded with memories for me. The ones added last Saturday night will remain positive ones and, after rum and cokes started flowing, impossible to explain, but fun regardless.
Support on the headliners came in the form of two acts, the first one being solo artist Jaws The Shark. I only managed to catch the last song, from memory, but I liked it enough to want to check out more, so there's a positive outcome for you. I caught more of the second act, Dead Pony, and I really enjoyed their sound and high energy performance. They're definitely a band I'll keep an eye on in the future. I like that, despite three shows not being a tour in the traditional sense of the term, effort was put into having a consistent line-up and choosing artists to play all shows instead of picking, almost last minute, whoever was available in a ten-mile radius.
If walking around in a t-shirt in Leeds after the first days of autumn meant tropical weather, I suppose the heat and sweatiness inside of Key Club were similar to the seventh circle of hell. This was my first small indoor show since the start of the pandemic, and I had almost forgotten what it felt like standing in a tiny room, sweat dripping from the ceiling, drenched, with other people's skin sticking to mine. I cannot say I missed the feeling as such, but I had definitely longed for the energy for the past eighteen months. There is something undeniably special about tiny venues, especially when you watch bands who could easily sell out larger, thousand people capacity rooms or more. The fact that it took us ten days to find tickets for the show truly is a testament to how popular and loved The Maine are.
As they should be.
These shows are an occasion for the Arizona natives to play more songs from their latest full length, the excellent XOXO: From Love And Anxiety In Real Time, as well as older tunes that do not often get played during shorter performances. As a long-time fan, it was nothing short of amazing to get a chance to hear Into Your Arms again. You know how, sometimes, you'll hear a song live, and the memory of that specific moment will stay embedded into your brain, for better or for worse? That was Into Your Arms for me. I remember hearing it the first time I saw The Maine, during their 2011 spring tour alongside NeverShoutNever. It was at the Nouveau Casino, in Paris, which is a no-barrier venue and, back in the day, no one really cared if you chucked all your earthly possessions on stage as long as you didn't get too much in the way, which we did, since we were first row. And the only thing I remember from Into Your Arms is an old friend of mine crying the whole time. Like, sobbing. Which I understand is rich coming from me, extreme crier extraordinaire.
As of September 25th, 2021, ten years, six months, and fourteen days later, I have a memory of myself smiling like an idiot, like, the kind of grinning that hurts your jaw, because I was just so happy to hear it live again. It's one of those moments when it absolutely hit me, square in the jaw and all, by how great a song it is, and hearing it live again was a treat.
Please never take it off the setlist again.
Apart from my weirdly specific, Into Your Arms related memories, this Key Club show was everything I could have wanted and expected from seeing The Maine: utter and complete chaos soundtracked by the best emo songs this side of the world. Never mind how hard we tried and, believe me, we did until the very last song, with all our might and energy, we simply could not get a moshpit going for more than two seconds, but we still had an awesome time. (And we'll get our revenge next time. I'm aware it sounds like a threat.) Chaos also came, as usual, in the form of frontman John O'Callaghan enthusiastically offering everyone a lift to Manchester, where the band was heading the next day to play with All Time Low, and phoning a random person's boss to tell them said person was quitting. Oh, also, not knowing what Lidl was. Yes, the supermarket chain.
Typing this, I realise explaining to an outsider what goes on when you watch The Maine perform on a stage is near impossible. It's one of those things: you have to witness it to understand it. This band is an all-encompassing experience.
And they're damn good live performers too. As I explained in my All Time Low post, earlier this week, I never know what's going to happen in the crowd whenever I see The Maine play, but I know I'm going to be given a brilliant performance by the five men on stage, never any doubt about it, and I couldn't ever ask for more. The setlist is hit after hit, after hit, from oldies such as Into Your Arms and Everything I Ask For to newbies Sticky, Lips, or Pretender, through beloved tracks like The Sound Of Reverie, Slip The Noose, or Run. I can never be unhappy with a setlist of theirs, even when I don't hear a song live for a decade or when they simply forget they ever released an album called Black & White.
Mind when I said, about All Time Low, that every time they played a song, my brain would go: "Shit, I love that one?" It also works for The Maine, ten times out of ten. Every single song. Shit, I love that one, sixteen times in a row, even with sweat dripping down from the ceiling, and even when I'm still giggling about the Lidl incident. It doesn't hurt that they always sound perfect. There's never a hit or miss situation. I don't remember ever leaving a show thinking it didn't sound good or anything that sort.
Every time I see The Maine live, I leave the venue feeling like I'm on top of the world, like my problems do not exist anymore, with a stupid grin on my sweaty face, covered in glitter, but most importantly, I leave the room in awe of how truly talented this band is. They are always consistently great, professional, and they always sound just right. They are one of a kind, really, the perfect mixture of chaotic energy and musical perfection, complete with matching outfits, jokes about Magic Mike, and more heart than many bands in the scene. They have one of the most loving and dedicated fanbases I have ever encountered, and you can tell this band means everything to all of us. Watching them play on a stage, though, it grows obvious that no joke, no lies, playing shows, connecting with their fans, sharing a moment with us, especially after being deprived of it for twenty months, it means everything to them too.
Check out Jaws The Shark HERE.
Check out Dead Pony HERE.