Cardiff University

23/04/07

In all honesty I wasn’t really much of a fan of Maximo Park until the release of the follow up album to  “A Certain Trigger”. Until then I just had them written off as another spiky sounding ten-a-penny arty rock band in suits from up north. I now know how wrong I was and I’ll be the first to admit it and take all the “I told you so’s” quite happily on the chin.

Tonight’s sell out show only went on to confirm that Maximo Park are a band with well written songs, performed by a group resembling mature looking art college students, fronted by one of the most animated men ever seen in a bowler hat.  Calling on “Graffiti” off their debut album to launch the evening it wasn’t long before the stage at the Uni was struggling to cage a crazed Paul Smith.

The territorial front-row female following seemed more than prepared to take a stray boot in the head by one of the Uni’s crowd surfers, in order to be in with a shout of taking home a piece Maximo Park’s stage show (aka set list, sweaty towel, bottle of beer).  A set list built mainly from the new record accompanied by expected crowd favourites “Apply Some Pressure” and “Postcard of a Painting” to name but a few, even managed to break the “too cool to dance crew” into a reluctant two step.  With a show like this it’s difficult to title just one song as a highlight but if forced “Books From Boxes” was nothing short of inspiring to say the least and “Limassol” quite simply took the roof off.

Smith and co. have crafted such a list of songs that the evening didn’t seem to hit the expected lull you come to experience in shows these days. Instead it was tune after tune of pure energy and excitement by one the most exciting acts to come out of Newcastle… well, since PJ and Duncan…

Lets get ready to rumble

words by Neil and Gabby

with photography by Jay

click here to see more of Jay's work from the gig

and a special mention to Richard Phillips for his photographic contribution

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