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Maxïmo Park instantly caught my affection after their terrific, yet unappreciated debut album A Certain Trigger came out. It’s somehow been seven years since it’s release. Yet, their show at Webster Hall last night was my first time seeing them. The band haven’t toured the states in 5 years, so it wasn’t completely my fault.
The beginning of their set was a little rough. The band started off flat, not helped by less than satisfactory sound mixing from the venue. The crowd lacked some energy, and I was honestly a little worried. Worry not, because lead-singer/frontman Paul Smith took everything into his own hands.
Smith got us into the crowd by both showing a chatty side in between songs, and a great knowledgeable stage presence during them. He acted out every lyric with the same amount of passion as if his lovelorn stories were actually taking place. He got the crowd into the show, and slowly, but surely, got the rest of the band on track. This includes keyboardist Lukas Wooller, who displayed some of the most energy I’ve ever seen from someone behind the keys.
The heart of the show came through songs from A Certain Trigger, as well as the incredible “Our Velocity”, the highlight of the evening, which took the crowds energy to an entirely different level.
The band didn’t bullshit us, and told us they weren’t doing an encore, and rather would just walk off stage after their next song. You could have been disappointed by this notion, but how could you be when you’re finally getting to hear “Apply Some Pressure”. Ironic since that was the very song that I heard from them, symbolically “walking on stage”.
Hit the jump for a gallery of photos from the show.
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