Saturday 22/05/10 The Maccabees @ Liverpool Sound City, Liverpool

The corridors are dingy and cool. Outside it is searing with heat – the kind that floats in only once a year. And it’s been noted by The Maccabees’ front man Orlando Weeks, who keeps apologising every five minutes for us being indoors. “We know how difficult this is for you,” he half-moans.

Gladly, it’s not that hard in truth – we’re here by choice. In fact, the artificial calm is sort of nice. Originally advertised as an under-14s gig, this matinee has been opened up to all ages (no matter: most have reverted to school age to have giddy festival fun). 

Anticipation adds to the mood –  because The Maccabees know how to make you wait. Just when everyone expects them to finally appear, Talking Heads’ ‘Once in a Lifetime’  blasts out with the stage in darkness. Then, when its groove gets going, our London boys nonchalantly walk out to surprised fanatics while the CD gets cut dead. And the next 40 minutes are over in a flash. 

But there are no complaints – this five-piece have molded their stage presence into a bold shape. The addition of a brass section brings some classy sparkle to an already impressive formation. What’s most striking about The Maccabees, though, is how you can view their trajectory over two albums – from almost adolescent longings to huge sound edifices. Cuts such as ‘No Kind Words’ prove a staunch maturity and are played with pace and enthusiasm. 

In fact, breakthrough hit ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ sounds a bit clumsy and lightweight in comparison, segued as it is between the more heavily-layered atmospherics.  A band of adoring masses lap it up anyway. More generally, the charm carries on unabated throughout, even if Weeks doesn’t really say much except thank the audience and sympathise about the weather. And a further sign of this bond appears when the band say they'll waiver the usual walk-off period between fake set ending and encore. Closer ‘Love you better’ might be about matters of the heart, but it is rock solid and rocks the concrete of this place. Let's hope there is a return soon - because, if not only for the music, it will probably mean there's a heatwave outside.

Liverpool Sound City highlights