Archive for the ‘Maximo Park’ Category

6 Jan

Maxïmo Park The Boiler Shop 27 October 2024

Posted by vintagerock in Maximo Park. Tagged: , , , , .

I have seen Maxïmo Park several times in the past. In fact it is only a couple months since I saw them perform at my local venue The Fire Station in Sunderland. I guess I have become a fan of this band, so I could not resist going to see them again at The Boiler Shop in Newcastle. This time the concert was all standing and I was seated on a viewing platform, high above the crowd, with my carer for the evening, Elaine.

Now, I can’t claim to know many of their songs, but I always enjoy their performance. They are entertaining, full of rocky energy and singer Paul Smith is the consummate front man, resplendent in bowler hat (or something similar) and leaping all over the stage. Musically, they lie somewhere on the boundaries between indie rock, pop and post – punk. Their music is infectious, loud and comprises catchy songs with great hooks. Lots of fun, in other words.

The Boiler Shop website proclaimed: “Maxïmo Park have been on an evolutionary journey since the release of their debut album A Certain Trigger (2005), a multi-platinum selling, Mercury-nominated breakthrough in every sense. As a pop band, Maxïmo Park aim to produce songs that are hooky, melodic, and memorable, and are constantly influenced by a plethora of diverse genres.

The overarching goal for them is to achieve genuine connection with their listeners which they accomplish time and time again. The band tour year-on-year to thousands of adoring fans across the globe and continue to release groundbreaking emotional music.”

Once again Maxïmo Park did not let me down. The Boiler Shop was absolutely jam packed for this home coming concert. Elaine and I had a great view from the wheelchair platform.  These local legends are massively popular in the North-East, coming originally from Newcastle. Soon after forming the band recruited Paul Smith from Stockton on Tees as singer: “When he first joined, we didn’t know if he could [sing]; just that he was a lunatic jumping around in a suit, it felt like the last piece of the jigsaw”. (From Wikipedia). He has certainly done them proud and has become the focal point for their live performances.

Paul remains as always. Full of energy, singing a set of songs that were, once again, very familiar to the audience. Everyone was singing along and knew every word! Even I am starting to recognise several of their songs. An impressive performance by a magnificent local band. Many thanks to Elaine for the photographs and Chris for manipulating the site. Bought myself a signed CD (see the first image).

Setlist: Your Own Worst Enemy; Postcard of a Painting; Dormant ’til Explosion; Calm; The End Can Be as Good as the Start; Armchair View; The National Health; I Knew That You’d Say That; Versions of You; Doppelgänger Eyes; Drinking Martinis; Our Velocity; What Did We Do to You to Deserve This?; Favourite Songs; Books From Boxes; Apply Some Pressure.
Encore: No Such Thing as a Society; Graffiti; Going Missing.

Chris just discovered a signed poster which I must have purchased at this concert or the previous one at the Fire Station. Thought I would add it here. Cheers and happy days Peter update just read the poster and I can see the Boiler Shop concert listed. In fact I can now see that they played two nights there! These guys are mega-popular in the North-East.

27 Dec

Maximo Park The Fire Station Parade Ground Sunderland 31 August 2024

Posted by vintagerock in Maximo Park. Tagged: , , , , , , , .

I have seen Maximo Park several times in the past. Although I can’t claim to know many of their songs, I always enjoy their performance. They are entertaining, full of rocky energy and Paul Smith is the consummate front man, resplendent in bowler hat (or something similar) and leaping all over the stage.

It was great to see them again in my local venue The Fire Station, outside in the Parade Ground when I recently saw Inspiral Carpets. When I arrived, with Jan, The Fire Station had very kindly reserved a table for us with a splendid view of the stage. Thank you very much, lovely treatment from my favourite local venue.

 

The Fire Station announced the show: “We’re delighted to host indie rock icons Maximo Park for a very special show in The Parade Ground as part of The Fire Station’s Summer Parties season. Like their friends and neighbours, The Futureheads and Field Music, Mercury Prize-nominated Maximo Park craft smart, sharply catchy songs inspired by post-punk and new wave legends like The Jam, XTC, Wire, and The Smiths.”

Once again Maximo Park did not let me down. It was great seeing them outside on a lovely late summer evening. As referred to above, these local legends are massively popular in the north-east, coming originally from Newcastle. They soon recruited Paul Smith from Stockton on Tees as singer: “When he first joined, we didn’t know if he could [sing]; just that he was a lunatic jumping around in a suit, it felt like the last piece of the jigsaw”. (From Wikipedia). He has certainly done them proud and has become the focal point for their live performances.

This was another important, and ultimately triumphant, concert for the band. The first time that I saw them at such an important concert was when they played at Newcastle City Hall, a large venue and a right of passage for any local band entering the “big time”. I wrote the following about that concert.

This concert was a big deal for Maximo Park. Their Facebook page proudly declared “everyone has played Newcastle City Hall: Bob Dylan, the Beatles; and now we are playing there”. The concert had sold out quickly: a hometown show with the added attraction that the band were showcasing their excellent debut album “A Certain Trigger” in full was bound to be a big draw. Laura was really excited about going but sadly came down with flu on the night of the concert, so along I went to the City Hall on my own.

Maximo Park exploded onto the stage to a big loud and friendly roar from the home crowd. The set was one of two halves, opening with 11 tracks drawing from across their career, starting with “Girls who play guitar”. This was followed by a performance of all 13 tracks from “A Certain Trigger”. Ten years on the songs from the first album sound as fresh and modern as ever. The crowd loved it, and you could see how much the band enjoyed the night, and how keen they had been to grace the City Hall stage.  A great performance from a local band who maintain a loyal and strong following.

Roll on to 2024. Paul remains as always. Full of energy, singing a set of songs that were very familiar to the audience. Everyone was singing along and appeared to know every word! An impressive performance by a magnificent local band. I bought a signed album (pictured). Many thanks to Jan for the photographs and Atlanta for manipulating the site.

Setlist: The Coast Is Always Changing; Girls Who Play Guitars; The End Can Be as Good as the Start; All of Me; Leave This Island; Hips and Lips; Quiz Show Clue; Questing, Not Coasting; I Want You to Stay; The National Health; The Kids Are Sick Again; Going Missing; Risk to Exist; By the Monument; What Equals Love?; Favourite Song; Our Velocity.
Encore: Versions of You; Books From Boxes; Apply Some Pressure.

25 Sep

Maxïmo Park The Fire Station Parade Ground Sunderland 31 August 2024

Posted by vintagerock in Maximo Park. Tagged: , , , , , , .

I have seen Maximo Park several times in the past. Although I can’t claim to know many of their songs, I always enjoy their performance. They are entertaining, full of rocky energy and Paul Smith is the consummate front man, resplendent in bowler hat (or something similar) and leaping all over the stage.

It was great to see them again in my local venue The Fire Station, outside in the Parade Ground when I recently saw Inspiral Carpets. When I arrived, with Jan, The Fire Station had very kindly reserved a table for us with a splendid view of the stage. Thank you very much, lovely treatment from my favourite local venue.

The Fire Station announced the show: “We’re delighted to host indie rock icons Maxïmo Park for a very special show in The Parade Ground as part of The Fire Station’s Summer Parties season. Like their friends and neighbours, The Futureheads and Field Music, Mercury Prize-nominated Maxïmo Park craft smart, sharply catchy songs inspired by post-punk and new wave legends like The Jam, XTC, Wire, and The Smiths.”

“The band have released seven studio albums to date: A Certain Trigger (2005), Our Earthly Pleasures (2007), Quicken The Heart (2009), The National Health (2012), Too Much Information (2014), Risk to Exist (2017) and Nature Always Wins (2021). The first two albums went gold in the UK. The Northeast legends will be visiting Sunderland ahead of the release of their latest album ‘Stream of Life’, and we can’t wait to welcome them for this outdoor performance in The Parade Ground.”

Once again Maximo Park did not let me down. It was great seeing them outside on a lovely late summer evening. As referred to above, these local legends are massively popular in the north-east, coming originally from Newcastle. They soon recruited Paul Smith from Stockton on Tees as singer: “When he first joined, we didn’t know if he could [sing]; just that he was a lunatic jumping around in a suit, it felt like the last piece of the jigsaw”. (From Wikipedia). He has certainly done them proud and has become the focal point for their live performances.

Paul remains as always. Full of energy, singing a set of songs that were very familiar to the audience. Everyone was singing along and appeared to know every word! An impressive performance by a magnificent local band. I bought a signed album (pictured). Many thanks to Jan for the photographs and Chris for manipulating the site.

Setlist:  The Coast Is Always Changing; Girls Who Play Guitars; The End Can Be as Good as the Start; All of Me; Leave This Island; Hips and Lips; Quiz Show Clue; Questing, Not Coasting; I Want You to Stay; The National Health; The Kids Are Sick Again; Going Missing; Risk to Exist; By the Monument; What Equals Love?; Favourite Song; Our Velocity.

Encore: Versions of You; Books From Boxes; Apply Some Pressure.

18 Dec

Maximo Park Newcastle City Hall 19 Nov 2015

Posted by vintagerock in Maximo Park. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , .

Maximo Park Newcastle City Hall 19 Nov 2015
FullSizeRender(6)This concert was a big deal for Maximo Park. Their Facebook page proudly declared “everyone has played Newcastle City Hall: Bob Dylan, the Beatles; and now we are playing there”. The concert had sold out quickly: a hometown show with the added attraction that the band were showcasing their excellent debut album “A Certain Trigger” in full was bound to be a big draw. Laura was really excited about going but sadly came down with flu on the night of the concert, so along I went to the City Hall on my own.
Maximo Park exploded onto the stage to a big loud and friendly roar from the home crowd. The set was one of two halves, opening with 11 tracks drawing from across their career, starting with “Girls who play guitar”. This was followed by a performance of all 13 tracks from “A Certain Trigger”. Ten years on the songs from the first album sound as fresh and modern as ever. The crowd loved it, and you could see how much the band enjoyed the night, and how keen they had been to grace the City Hall stage.  A great performance from a local band who maintain a loyal and strong following.
Setlist: Girls Who Play Guitars; The National Health; A19; The Kids Are Sick Again; This Is What Becomes of the Broken Hearted; Hips and Lips; A Year of Doubt; Midnight on the Hill; Leave This Island; Our Velocity; Books from Boxes; [A Certain Trigger set:]; Signal and Sign; Apply Some Pressure; Graffiti; Postcard of a Painting; Going Missing; I Want You to Stay; Limassol; The Coast Is Always Changing; The Night I Lost My Head; Once, a Glimpse; Now I’m All Over the Shop; Acrobat; Kiss You Better

22 Feb

BBC 6 Music Festival Sage Gateshead 21st February 2015

Posted by vintagerock in Hot Chip, Jungle, Kate Tempest, Maximo Park, Royal Blood, Simian Mobile Disco, Stuart Maconie, The Fall. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , .

BBC 6 Music Festival Sage Gateshead 21st February 2015
6musictixHall 1: Maximo Park; The Fall; Kate Tempest; Royal Blood; Hot Chip
Hall 2: Ghostpoet; Father John Misty; Ibibio Sound Machine; Django Django; The Cribs
Hall 3: Craig Charles; Stuart Maconie; Ady Croasdell; Richard Searling
Concourse: Kate Tempest & Eliza Carthy; Villagers; Simian Mobile Disco; Jungle; Gruff Rhys
The BBC 6 Music Festival decamped to the North East this year with events in the Academy on Friday, The Sage on Saturday and Sunday and a range of venues across Newcastle throughout the weekend. David and Shauna came up from London for the weekend, and we all (Marie, me, David, Shauna, Laura, Dale) trooped across to the Sage for the Saturday evening festivities.
6musicleafetThe Sage had been transformed into a festival cum nightclub, with all of the halls open and simultaneously featuring music.  All of the seats had been removed from the floor level of Hall 1. The first act that Marie and I caught was Kate Tempest, who was introduced by Don Letts. Now there’s a face from the past. The last time I remember seeing him was 1977 in Newcastle Students Union and he was holding a big camera, filming the Clash. He was managing the Slits at the time and went on to be a member of Big Audio Dynamite. Kate Tempest got the crowd going with her spoken word hip hop music. We wandered into Hall 3 and found Stuart Maconie playing soul sounds, and then out onto the concourse to watch Jungle. For me the highlight was Royal Blood, who made a loud intense blues noise and played to a packed Hall 1. Its hard to believe that two guys (guitar, vocals, drums) can produce such a wall of classic rock music, in the tradition of Hendrix, Zeppelin and Cream. Great stuff. The others all reckoned Hot Chip as the highlight of the night. Laura and Dale went off to the Boiler House after the Sage closed at 11pm, for further 6 Music fun.
Its great that a national event like this has chosen to come to the North East. The 6 Music festival continues today with more music around the city and in the Sage tonight.

10 Dec

The Who Newcastle Arena 9th Dec 2014

Posted by vintagerock in Maximo Park, The Who. Tagged: , , , , , , , , .

The Who Newcastle Arena 9th Dec 2014
Support from local heroes Maximo Park
whoprogWhat can I say! The Who returned to Newcastle as part of “The Who Hits 50 tour!” with a set jam-packed with classic songs drawn from across their amazing entire catalogue. I went along with my mate Norm to see the rock legends, and we were both really looking forward to the gig. They didn’t let us down, and then some. This was the 19th occasion on which I have seen the Who in concert, the first being at Newcastle Odeon in 1971. I knew that the concert would be good, but was surprised just how excellent the band were last night. Support came from local band Maximo Park who warmed the crowd up with a short set. The arena was pretty full, although not sold out. The Who started their set shortly after 8.30pm, sauntering on to the stage, Roger holding his cup of tea. “Go For It Pete” a voice from the front shouted. Townshend explained that these days his actions are limited to windmill arm swinging, a little jigging (he demonstrated both) and insulting the front row (which he admitted to gaining great enjoyment from). Then the familiar chords of “I Can’t Explain” rang through the arena and The Who were off, in full swing, taking us right back to where it all started. This was followed swiftly by “Substitute”; two classic slabs of 60s pop/rock, which they always opened their set with during the 70s. Roger’s voice was strong and solid, and the mike saw lots of twirling throughout the evening. Next up was “The Seeker”, not often played live, followed by “Who Are You” and “The Kids Are Alright”, with Roger on acoustic guitar; those great harmonies always get me. Pete explained how he wrote great pop songs like “The Kids Are Alright” (also mentioning “Legal Matter” in the same context) in his small attic studio in London in the 60s, usually in connection with stories about his latest girlfriend. He went on to tell us how he then moved into “artrock”, as way of introducing “I Can See for Miles”. Classic. One of their best songs, and a pure gem from the 60s. Pete was very animated throughout the concert and talked to the crowd a lot. He joked about “Pictures of Lily” and explained that “Cry If You Want” (can’t say I remember that one) was covered by the Merseys (and Bowie? I think). Next was “Behind Blue Eyes” with Roger in fine voice, followed by “You Better You Bet”. Then, with one of the band on mouth harp and another on jaw’s harp, we were in the 70s and “Join Together”. Roger made reference to their last tour, which was “Quadrophenia”, as and introduction to a short segment from that album: “I’m One”; “5:15”; “Bell Boy” (with video footage of Keith Moon playing the bellboy part, his grinning face staring at us from giant screens behind the band) and “Love, Reign O’er Me”. John Entwistle also featured, in a great close-up video of an extended bass solo, the screen showing his fingers speeding up and down the neck of his guitar. whotix2014The crowd gave the videos of the late great Moon and Entwistle massive cheers. Townshend was really on fire by now, thumping his guitar, and windwill arm twirling, again and again and again. His temper also flared at one point; something obviously wasn’t right with his guitar so he threw, slamming it flat face down onto the floor. He continued to sing without a guitar, until a guy quickly arrived with a replacement. “Eminence Front” from “It’s Hard” brought us into the 80s. Then Pete introduced “A Quick One (While He’s Away)”, explaining that his first mini opera was written quickly to fill up space on an album, and was his initial attempt at a long themed piece of music. He went on to tell us that it features in the Stones Rock’n’Roll circus film, and that we should watch it if we haven’t yet seen it. I’ve always liked this track, and enjoyed seeing them play it live, I don’t think they have played it on tour since 1970 or so. A “Tommy’ segment followed: “Amazing Journey”; “Sparks”; “Pinball Wizard”. Pete’s hand was bleeding badly by now, his twirling and chord smashing had resulted in him cutting a finger; there was blood all over the scratch plate of his Fender Strat. The set closed with “See Me, Feel Me”; “Baba O’Riley”; and the anthemic “Won’t Get Fooled Again”. For the encore, they played “Magic Bus”, finishing at 11pm. A 2 and a half hour set from classic rock band who were simply on fire; it was one of the best performances I have seen from them in many years. A long set, but never boring; it went over so quickly. Pure class.

28 Sep

Maximo Park The Split Festival Sunderland 25 Sep 2010

Posted by vintagerock in Maximo Park. Tagged: , , , , , .

Maximo Park The Split Festival Sunderland 25 Sep 2010
The Split Festival has been going for a couple or so years in Sunderland, however this year’s festival seemed to have a much stronger line-up and as a result a much higher profile. It was the first time that we’d been along to the festival even though it is only afew minutes walk from home. Marie, Laura and I decided to go along on the Saturday night, primarily because Laura wanted to catch local heroes Maximon Park.
We arrived while Frankie and the Heartstrings (rocky, and a bundle of energy) were onstage. The festival was in a large marquee within the grounds of Ashbrook Sports club, with two stages at opposite sides of the tent, allowing for rapid change over between bands. So more or less straight after Frankie finished Maximo Park took to the stage to a great reaction from the crowd. Front man Paul Smith is a live wire, using the whole of the stage, and really getting the crowd going. The band are pretty high energy rock and got a great reception from the home crowd. Their set was relatively short at aorund an hour, but that seemed about right,given the fast punchy and short nature of the songs. A great set, and a pretty nice local event. Looking forward to next year.

festival programme

wristband