Maxïmo Park @ Joint of Hard Rock Vegas

ARTICLE AND PHOTOS BY SUNG KIM

LAS VEGAS—NOV. 23 | “We’ll be supporting Celine Dion for the rest of our lives!” Maxïmo Park singer Paul Smith jokingly told the Las Vegas crowd. Well, not exactly, as tonight the band was opening for Scottish veterans Travis. But Vegas isn’t as unlikely a destination for the band as it first sounds, as Smith, ever the showman, donned a black suit with red shirt, red tie, red patent leather shoes and trademark bowler hat. Maxïmo Park started their set with “Girls Who Play Guitars,” the first track from current album Our Earthly Pleasures. And with the first distorted strum by guitarist Duncan Lloyd, Smith sent his body into perpetual motion. Throughout the night, Smith threw himself around all parts of the stage, wielded the microphone stand like a toothpick and jumped to heights that would shame David Lee Roth in his prime.

“Girls Who Play Guitars” aptly illustrates what makes Maxïmo Park’s music so distinctive. Like the band’s other songs, it is filled with modulation, both in key and tempo, which rarely lets the listener relax or lose attention. And fortunately for the audience, this also means Smith rarely rests on stage. Lyrically, “Girls” describes the difficult period in a relationship—in this case, exactly one year—when maintenance becomes more of the focus. This is a common theme in many of Maxïmo Park’s songs, because for the band, it’s not about getting the girl, but keeping her.

The band wasted no time introducing material from their dazzling debut, A Certain Trigger. The set’s second song, “Graffiti,” blasted out of the speakers with Lukas Wooler’s keyboards providing the main thrust. Shortly afterwards, Maxïmo Park played their first-ever single, “The Coast Is Always Changing,” a song that helped to transport the audience from the desert landscapes of Vegas. By the eighth song of the night, “Nosebleed,” the band hit their full stride. Smith went into another gear, and the band seemed completely in sync with each other.

Before the second to last song, “Going Missing,” Smith addressed the crowd by saying, “We care very much about our songs, and we are very excited to play them for new people.” The appreciative crowd cheered in response. As Wooler told The Scenestar in an interview earlier this year, the band concentrates on baring themselves emotionally through their music. Even though he also stated that some of their favorite bands are American, the band’s music and lyrics are distinctly evocative of their origins. And thank goodness that what happens in Maxïmo Park’s Newcastle does not stay so.

Setlist:
Girls Who Play Guitars
Graffiti
A Fortnight’s Time
The Coast Is Always Changing
Parisian Skies
By the Monument
Apply Some Pressure
Nosebleed
Limassol
Russian Literature
Books From Boxes
Going Missing
Our Velocity

For more photos, see Sung’s photo gallery.

Comments

[kirsten]

Maximo Park Brown Ale! http://www.nme.com/news/maximo-park/32902

[mychelle]

nice review! and i like the tie in to my fun interview with lukas! if only they'd come back to chicago with travis.... sigh.