So on 15th
of November 2015 (last Sunday) I had the pleasure of going to see the
alternative rock band Maximo Park at The Sugarmill. The gig was in honour of
the 10th anniversary of their first album ‘A Certain Trigger’,
released back in May 2005, which they played in full - including some singles
and rarities from other albums.
The first time
I went to see Maximo, Paul had recently had an emergency operation on his eye
and shouldn’t have really been performing at all exclaiming that his ‘eye might
explode’ - I knew I was to expect something bigger and better this time! I was
definitely not disappointed! From the minute the boys came on stage, to the
minute they left I was captivated, not only because of the striking riffs, punchy
drum beats and the unique Geordie vocals, but because of the
extraordinary energy and stage presence they perform with - in particularly
Paul, who’s entire set is choreographed beautifully! Don’t get me wrong, the
dancing can look a bit odd to an unknowing onlooker, however Paul’s slinky
hips, kicks and jumps are just down right fabulous, and there is a somewhat of
sass about him. That’s right… I’ve just described Paul Smith as sassy.
Highlights of the evening included Books from
Boxes from their second album ‘Our Earthly Pleasures’ (a personal favourite of
mine due to the beautiful metaphoric lyrics); Our Velocity also from the second
album – one of the more well-known songs so the buzz from crowd really added to
the rock vibe; Apply Some Pressure and Going Missing (both from ‘A Certain
Trigger’); and finally a hit from their fifth album ‘Too Much Information’
called ‘Give, Get, Take’ which was accompanied by some bizarre robot dancing on
Smith’s part. One of the things I loved most about the show was that the size
of the venue made the performance a lot more intimate which enabled Paul to
relax and have a laugh on stage, making jokes comparing the song ‘The Night I
Lost My Head’ to a night out in Stoke (after all, we are rated 2nd
worst place to go out drinking) and even answering questions from members in
the crowd. (I’ll put links to the named songs below).
All in all I
had an excellent night and will definitely be going to see the lads tour again
as it is always a pleasure! Just a bit gutted that they didn’t perform
Questing, Not Coasting from ‘Quicken The Heart’.
I’ll include
some photos/videos from the 2014 and 2015 gigs too so you can check those out.
Think my next
post will either be bands/artists I’d
like to see or a playlist - let
me know in the comments which you want to see!
Thanks for
reading!
Bethan xx
Links to
songs:
Books From
Boxes – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jmlWcItwxc
Our Velocity –
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bMHHCpQ9M-Y
Apply Some
Pressure – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ue193sAcrE
Going Missing
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YkoGvnjW7I
Give, Get,
Take – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No0tgjeShd8
The Night I
Lost My Head – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRbn-Mab8Zc
Questing, Not
Coasting – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nqYkiZ4a1oQ
(all photos are my own, I apologise for the lack of uniformity with the watermark, I've recently changed my stamp)
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