Maxïmo Park’s debut album A Certain Trigger has come of age and it’s the perfect time for an anniversary tour. However, on the basis of their performance at Cambridge’s Corn Exchange, there is nothing nostalgic about the energy of either the band or the fans.
Opening for this tour are cult band Art Brut who, lead singer Eddie Argos explains, are not unsuccessful enough to give up but not successful enough to make any money. He alternates between leaning conspiratorially towards the audience (telling the band to ‘shh’) and pacing frenetically, mic stand in hand. The energy and humour of both Argos and the songs make it easy to understand why one of the crowd remarks ‘they should have been huge’. Argos introduces each member of the band as ‘Art Brut’ before telling the audience that, as ‘we are all Art Brut’, they need to join in with their final song Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out.
The crowd is still buzzing when Maxïmo Park take to the stage. Trilby-clad Paul Smith makes his restless strutting and gesturing look absolutely effortless. He barely breaks a sweat despite being constantly on the move. From the moment he steps onto the stage, through his trademark jump from the drum stand during Graffiti, to the final notes of Going Missing, it is hard not to follow his every move.
The songs themselves have not aged, either musically or in the relevance of their lyrics, and the crowd dance and stomp their way through the 21-song set celebrating an album that is not, as Smith jokes, 57 years old. The National Healthbleeds straight into Girls Who Play Guitars whilst, between other songs, Smith talks to the audience with a genuine warmth, humour and humility that draws us in. Even without Smith telling the crowd that the band ‘want to play for you’, it is clear this is not simply a nostalgia tour and that the group still live what they do. Smith’s respect for the audience is evident when he thanks them for buying tickets ‘in the current climate’.
The setlist is carefully crafted to build towards anthem Apply Some Pressure, which Smith has said would be the last song except ‘you know how these things work’. The band leave the stage only briefly before returning with three final songs, culminating perfectly as the crowd join the final notes of Going Missing.
When they finally leave the stage to stomping and cheering, no one departs with the impression that this is a swan song.
Art Brut Setlist
Formed a Band
My Little Brother
She Kissed Me (And It Felt Like a Hit)
Pump Up the Volume
Modern Art
Unprofessional Wrestling
Emily Kane
Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!
Maxïmo Park Setlist
Signal and Sign
Graffiti
Postcard of a Painting
Our Velocity
Leave This Island
The Coast Is Always Changing
The Night I Lost My Head
A19
Karaoke Plays
Now I’m All Over the Shop
Favourite Songs
I Want You to Stay
Versions of You
The National Health
Girls Who Play Guitars
Kiss You Better
Limassol
Apply Some Pressure
Encore:
Acrobat
Books From Boxes
Going Missing
0 Comments