The Maccabees - Alexandra Palace, London - 8th June 2012 (Live Review)
Tuesday, 12 June 2012
Written by Katie Territt
The Maccabees have been making and releasing beautiful music for five years now. Gorgeous single after gorgeous single. Classic album after classic album. It appears the London based indie rockers can do no wrong. Having recently released their third studio album, 'Given To The Wild', the band are embarking on the usual promotional touring with the highlight being a huge homecoming show.
Friday night saw the legendary Alexandra Palace play host to The Maccabees for what was their biggest headline show to date. A show no doubt most of their fans have been waiting for and one which didn't disappoint in the slightest. Be warned, this review contains much gushing!
With the lights in the vast hall dimmed, the 'Given To The Wild (Intro)' announced the arrival of the band onstage, before they launched straight into 'Child', a song from the new album that was first debuted back in the summer of 2010. 'Given To The Wild's’ second single release, 'Feel To Follow' was up next before a venture back to their second album, 'Wall Of Arms' with the single of the same name, the fantastic 'Young Lions' and previous free download 'No Kind Words'.
Stopping to acknowledge the huge crowd, the band were clearly humbled by the size of the venue and amount of fans in attendance. Orlando thanked everyone for their support before two new album tracks, 'Go' and 'Glimmer' were given an outing, and a quick trip back to 'Wall Of Arms' saw the awesome 'William Powers' belted out for the more than "up for it" crowd.
Debut album 'Colour It In' finally had its chance to shine next with gorgeous single 'First Love' and the fantastic classic 'X-Ray'; the crowd singing every word back to the band on both counts. 'Wall Of Arms' single 'Can You Give It' created a mass sing-a-long before album track 'Forever I've Known', followed by 'Given To The Wild' track 'Heave' which had its first ever live outing; fantastic.
For a long-term, hardcore Maccabees fan, the end to the regular set was absolute perfection, spanning all three of the band's albums. The wonderfully beautiful 'Toothpaste Kisses' (which I fully admit brought tears to my eyes), the rarely played and absolute corker 'Latchmere' (for the fans who have been there from the beginning, according to Orlando) interspersed with a slowed down version of 'About Your Dress', 'Love You Better' (the song that always makes me lose myself), and lastly, 'Pelican' (the first single release from 'Given To The Wild', and the album's stand out song by far). I'm not sure anyone could've come up with a better end to a set if they tried!
After the obligatory mock-finish, the band returned to the stage and launched into another new track, 'Unknow', this time accompanied by an impressive light show containing some pretty spectacular Muse-esque green lasers. Orlando showed off his flawless range singing the sections by Alpine's Catherine Pockson himself, before an impressive outing for 'Went Away'.2007 single 'Precious Time' was another track to get the old school fans going
crazy, before 'Grew Up At Midnight' finished the encore and the show.
The Maccabees are a band that deserve every single bit of their success, and more. They're a hard working band who produce nothing but wonderful music, and their live shows are tight, entertaining and pretty damn flawless. Orlando Weeks is nothing short of captivating onstage, and his passion and intensity on some of the new tracks absolutely shines from him. They're a band you can't tear your eyes away from when they perform and they evoke such emotion from the crowd, particularly with the inducing of many goosebumps.
Alexandra Palace was a perfect venue for the band's biggest headline show - a historical and beautiful building full of fans who The Maccabees held in the palm of their hands. Anyone at the show would've had a fantastic night,
but for us hardcore fans that have followed and supported the band since the beginning, it was truly a special moment to be proud of, and a setlist to wish for at gigs to come. The Maccabees - just amazing!
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR
We don't run any advertising! Our editorial content is solely funded by lovely people like yourself using Stereoboard's listings when buying tickets for live events. To keep supporting us, next time you're looking for concert, festival, sport or theatre tickets, please search for "Stereoboard". It costs you nothing, you may find a better price than the usual outlets, and save yourself from waiting in an endless queue on Friday mornings as we list ALL available sellers!
Friday night saw the legendary Alexandra Palace play host to The Maccabees for what was their biggest headline show to date. A show no doubt most of their fans have been waiting for and one which didn't disappoint in the slightest. Be warned, this review contains much gushing!
