Monday, July 30, 2007

Satruday Night, Pt 2: Maximo Park @ The Casbah

I arrived to the Casbah around 11:30 and finally relaxed a bit, bouncing back and forth between the show and the patio where so many of my friends were hanging out. As promised, Greg Padgett sent me a great review and Dave Wong-Toi sent me pictures, so I make no apologies for just letting myself loose.

MAXIMO PARK w/ MONSTERS ARE WAITING AND THE OOHLAS
SATURDAY, 28 JULY 2007
THE CASBAH
by Greg Padgett

Back in 2005, with U.K. rock buzz bands Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party already riding a wold-wide wave of notiriety and fellow U.K. bands like The Futureheads and The Kaiser Chiefs nipping at thier heels, a Newcastle band named Maximo Park quietly released their excellent full length debut album "A Certain Trigger." Even though the the album and their live shows gained tons of crititcal praise, the band stayed relatively under the radar in the two years that followed. That could defintiely change with the 2007 release of their outstanding sophmore effort "Our Earthly Pleasures". It is one of the best albums of the year, chock full of irrisitably catchy pop-rock gems that will stay in your head for days. And judging by their sold-out show at The Casbah Saturday night this band definintely seems poised for that big-time breakthrough. Taking the stage around 11:30, on a sweltering night at the The Casbah, the band, led by highly energetic frontman Paul Smith, opened with "The Coast Is Always Changing" from "A Certain Trigger"; which seemed appropos for this region of the U.S., since we live on a coast that most sages and soothsayers say will defintiely be changed one of these days. Over the course of the next hour, the band ripped through a set that was heavy on songs from their latest release, standout tracks such as "Girls Who Play Guitars", "Our Velocity", "Books From Boxes" and "Parisian Skies"; with a few great songs from "A Certain Trigger" mixed in: "Apply Some Pressure", "Limassol" and "Postcard From a Painting". As the show went on, it seemed that the oppressive heat in the building just engergized the band and crowd even more, and by the time the band played its last song before the encore, "Signal and Sign" from "A Certain Trigger", the crowd and band was whipped into a frenzy that I personally havent witnessed at The Casbah in awhile. After a short break to catch their breaths and to allow us sweat soaked fans to gather ourselves a bit, the band came back for the two song encore, which consisted of "Sandblasted and Set Free" from "Our Earthly Pleasures" and ended with the raucous, fist-pumping, crowd favorite "Graffiti" from "A Certain Trigger." It was the perfect song to end a memorable, sweat soaked, adrenaline filled show, that I will not forget for quite some time. Those of us who were fortunate enough to be there hopefuuly got to witness something special; the inevitable rise of Maximo Park.
Opening the show was the powerpop indie rock band The Oohlas, which included former Everclear drummer Greg Ecklund on vocals and guitar. The band played an energetic set with songs from their excellent 2006 debut album "Best Stop Pop." Following them on the bill was L.A. indie rock band Monsters Are Waiting; who played a few songs from their own outstanding debut full length album "Fascination"; along with an absolute stunningly mezmerizing cover of The Stone Rose's "I Wanna Be Adored.". Their lead singer, Annalee, joked after the song that the band had just written that song the night before. All jokes aside, if this band keep up the momentum from their first record, there is a real good chance this band could concievalby write songs just as classic as "I Wanna Be Adored". Here's hoping they do. The only gripe I had about the night was the short set they played (just 7 songs), but with three bands on the bill and the time constraints, it was understandable. This was one of the best shows I've been to at The Casbah in awhile, the energy of the crowd was great, all the bands killed it, and the atmosphere created during the Maximo Park set absoluetly electric. Thanks,Casbah folks, for bringing this great and memorable night of music to your great venue!

Thanks for writing Greg! And here's the pics from Dave:

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

I did snap this pic of Maximo Park's Zune sponsored bus:

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket

And Dave gave me the setlist.

Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket
Maximo Park Setlist, Casbah, July 28, 2007

After the band finished near 1 am, it was off to the San Diego house party.

2 comments:

Paul Jamason said...

this was a great show - lots of energy, good sound mix and tight playing. thanks for the setlist and pics!

Greg Padgett said...

Damn! I screwed up. I wrote on the review that the last song before the encore was "Signal and Sign"; when in all actuality it was "Going Missing". Paul, the lead singer announced the song beforehand, but I couldnt make it out, he sort of mumbled it. I guess thats what I get for not getting a good look at the set list and writing that review half awake the next morning! Sorry!