The Maccabees last night played what was essentially a homecoming show at the Coronet Theatre in London - or at least that’s what frontman Orlando Weeks referred to it as due to its location being so close to the band’s regular recording studio.
“It’s like being at home,” Weeks said. “We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for being here.” Starting a little later than advertised, the band had to hold off hitting the stage at their scheduled 9pm set time because of the line of fans stuck out in the rain lined up around the building which then continued under the underpass and across the street.
Once inside though, the atmosphere - as cliché as it sounds - really was electric. The line for the bar was long, but the line of people wanting to get to their seats was longer. Opening to a loud roar, the lads from London kicked things off in familiar fashion with the title track from their sophomore album, Wall of Arms. But quick to break things up, the band said their hellos and assured everyone that they had been hard at work on their new album contrary to public belief following their three year struggle to release it, and that it’s an album about “the special things around us.”
.jpg)
Running through ‘Young Lions’, ‘Love You Better’ and newer song ‘Kamakura’, the conversation about the special things in life continued and the band wanted fans to know that even they see the beautiful things around them, including fan favourites that perhaps they don’t play live as much anymore.
With that said the opening chords of ‘Latchmere’ rang out and the venue’s energy seemed to shift dramatically. Crowd surfing became a standard exercise – and a busy one for the stewards – umbrellas went up, and those seated stood up, or rather jumped up. If you ever needed proof that the oldies are always the goodies then this was it. With an impressive light show giving the night a stadium feel to it, more classics came in the form of ‘No Kind Words’ and ‘X-Ray’.
The encore included another new song, of which the band requested feedback on, and ‘Pelican’ ended the night. The only song missing? ‘Toothpaste Kisses’. But hey, the way The Maccabees were on form last night, it really didn’t matter.
The Maccabees played:
'Wall of Arms'
'Feel to Follow'
'Young Lions'
'Love You Better'
'Kamakura'
'WW1 Portraits'
'Latchmere'
'Precious Time'
'Can You Give It'
'Marks to Prove It'
'Spit It Out'
'X-Ray'
'No Kind Words'
'Grew Up At Midnight'
'Forever I've Known'
'Something like Happiness'
'Pelican'
.jpg)
.jpg)
