The Maine at Summit Music Hall
June 7, 2011 – Denver, Colorado
By Benn Farrell
In the right venue and with a properly warmed-up crowd, the response to The Maine’s live show can sound like The Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Still supporting their second full album, first with Warner Brothers Records, titled “Black and White,” The Maine dropped their pop rock tones onto their massive teenage fan base June 7 at Summit Music Hall in Denver.
From the first chord, a small sea of screaming teen girls defined the band’s popularity, while a handful of parents were in tow for it’s first visit to Denver in almost a year.
The Maine had a soft introduction which quickly gave away to an animated splash of energy and an unveiled backdrop as the band opened with Good Love, one of its brand new tracks.
They followed up with Listen to Your Heart and Right Girl, one the newer singles. By the time they were three songs in, it was obvious the crowd came prepared. Not a single girl from stage to sound booth was silent, and each of them knew every word.
Frontman John O’Callaghan, bassist Garrett Nickelsen and drummer Pat Kirch had the most stage presence from the start of the show. The others slipped into their own shortly after.
O’Callaghan immediately went for a connection with the crowd, asking his fans questions and being extremely gracious; however, it was one of those shows where the lead singer could have said literally anything and gotten a huge response. Even saying, “Monkeys just fell out of my butt and are taking over the world,” would have filled Summit’s meager venue with screams of adolescence. It was obvious the five members of The Maine were eating it up too.
The band ripped through I Must Be Dreaming, Into Your Arms, a single from their first album “Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop,” Don’t Stop Now, Color and Saving Grace next, keeping the momentum rolling like a train before slowing things down for another brand new one titled Ice Cave.
O’Callaghan called for a stage of blue-lighting as he asked for his audience to close their eyes and imagine being in this cave made of ice and following with the tune. The frontman was very good at making sure The Maine’s crowd participate and were a part of the show.
After performing “Everything I Ask For”, another single from the first album, the crowd was as much the show as the band. The crowd’s knowledge of the lyrics, at times, almost drowned out O’Callaghan’s vocals. It was definitely one of the biggest responses of the night, despite The Maine’s new arrangement of the tune for this tour, and a highlight of the show.
O’Callaghan later revealed the band’s third full album is nine songs in the bag and will wrap after the present tour. Of course, the place went nuts and was appreciative to hear Don’t Give Up, from that upcoming release.
At times, late in the show, the mix started to get fuzzy. Bass and percussion stood out more than anything else. It was frustrating to see three guitars being played by then and barely cracking through the system.
Inside of You, another jaunt from B&W, and Girls Do What They Want, from their debut, start to bring the band’s evening to a close.
Between songs, O’Callaghan’s foul language started to creep through. He apologized for it, but he didn’t have to. It’s a rock n’ roll show after all. Nickelson and the frontman had traffic problems on the mic’s late in the set, but it didn’t bring the energy down one notch. Nor did their young fans seem to mind.
The Maine gave a solid finish with another single from the second album, Growing Up, one of their G-to-C-to-G anthems.
Between crowd responses, stage presence, tight performances and the overall high energy, it’s easy to understand how The Maine has created such a following in the last four years. If their show isn’t the best to blow through Denver this summer, it has to be at least in the top three.
Frontman John O’Callaghan and bassist Garrett Nickelsen interview
You’re still supporting you’re second full album. What do you think the material on the new album says compared to the first one?
John O’Callaghan: I think it says we’ve grown up a little bit. It says something about preparation and not necessarily better preparation. We were just prepared in a different way than the second one. I think we were a little more conscientious of what we wanted to sound like. So, hopefully that bled through.
How do you think you stand out in your genre of music?
JO: I think we’re just individuals. People can categorize it however they want to categorize it. What we try to do is be as much of ourselves as we think we are. I don’t know.
What do you think your fans come to expect from you?
JO: We try to be real and not stand on a façade. We are very appreciative to our fans and want make sure they know that, so we’re always constantly putting out new material for them to be into.
At this point in the band’s lifespan, what keeps it motivated? What do you look forward to doing every time you get up in the morning?
Garrett Nickelsen: Being able to write music. I think we see that as—if you can call this a job—our job, to write music that we enjoy as well as the fans.
JO: I think that’s what motivates us, seeing people come to the shows and being excited about things that we’re excited about. I think that’s very harmonious, and I think that’s what keeps me excited, or something I try to think about.
Alternative Press Magazine readers voted you guys Best Live Performance last year. What makes you guys so memorable on stage?
GN: On that more so, kids are just excited. We did a headliner last summer, and we try to do something a little different. Maybe it seemed a little different because of the shows they are used to going to, our fans at least.
JO: A lot of what life is is perception, and I think if people see things in a different light then you’re standard in that category we were talking about, which we’re already clumped in, we make it seem like something different is offered. Which there was, because we would play the full hour-and-a-half set…
GN: …Yeah, it was like the first tour we played more than like 12 songs.
JO: We told everybody that we were going to meet them afterwards. Anybody that wanted to stick around could get a picture if they wanted or just say Hi. I think that added to the tour.
GN: We brought out bands that maybe not many people had heard of. Where it’s like now you have to throw in a bunch of bands that are doing well and like put this huge show on. We wanted to bring out our friends from home and do something like that.
How do you think this band differs from the studio to the stage?
JO: I think that’s part of the learning experience, and I don’t think we’ve found that balance yet.
GN: We change things a lot playing live; different ways of playing the song to making it sound a completely different way. I feel like, in the studio, once you finish that, maybe that version of the song is done. But that song could still go a million different ways.
JO: It’s all right to kind of experiment and branch out, because at the same token, everybody needs to be excited that comes to see the show, but if we’re not excited playing the songs, that’s not going to translate. They’re not going to be excited watching them. So, we try to put on a new twist, at least with this set that we have running right now. But also, that’s what’s drilled into our heads when we go back into the studio.
We have nine songs recorded thus far for our new album, which we produced ourselves. And we’re going to go finish it up, but even just from recording those nine songs, there’s a ton that we’ve learned about the recording process and at least dynamically how we want to sound, how it’s going to translate live. And there’s a bunch of questions we’re going to have to ask ourselves. It’s just that kind of balancing that you have to have in place.
From the time that you guys were putting the band together, is The Maine still something you saw it being or has it evolved into something else?
GN: We’ve definitely evolved. When we first started, we were so young. I think our views were completely different than they are now. There’s some people out there who care about this band. It’s not just us anymore. It’s pretty cool.
JO: I think expectations are kind of weird, just because there are so many variables. Not only like within each goal, but within life. I think you can’t just say, “I expect X,” and if “X” doesn’t come out then are you supposed to be put down by the fact that you didn’t exceed what you expected? There is no expectation. I think it’s just a long journey, and it has been thus far. And I hope it’s even longer. I hope it goes for as long as we live, seriously.
What do you hope people actually say about The Maine after walking away from your shows? What would they talk about the next day?
JO: I hope the small amount of time that we’re on stage, or even just a show we’re a part of, if you’re having a terrible week or whatever the circumstance, that you can go and stay maybe at least two hours, three hours, I think that would be awesome to hear.
Do any of you guys have any rituals you have to do before you hit the stage?
GN: We do this clap thing, ya’ know, that we do together. It’s nothing really. We’ve been doing it for years now.
JO: Actually, I mean, there’s been maybe one show where we didn’t, I think. And I think everybody was let down by it. Everyone had a really terrible show.
Is there one moment on stage that sticks out in your mind that makes you say, “Yeah, that’s why I wanted to do this?”
JO: That’s really tough. We’ve had so many wild things that we’ve been a part of, so many surreal experiences. We’ve had people propose to each other on stage.
GN: We played a show in the Philippines where I never thought I would go. There was like four stories of people at the mall like singing along. There are so many points.
JO: When we played in Jakarta [Indonesia], people were waiting. I never even heard of Jakarta before. But we fuckin’ showed up and there were people with signs. It was very Justin Bieber. But there’s not one single moment where I was like, “Well, that encompasses everything.” That’s the beauty of what we do too; there’s something new everyday. It’s all dependent on your attitude too. I can just see somebody in here tonight who’s just singing every word with their eyes closed, and that could mean more to me than any of those things combined. I think we’re just so fortunate that people still care, and are giving us the opportunity to go back into the studio and write more music.
GN: That’s one thing I’ve noticed, more now than in a while, just like how kids are coming up after the show who were 15 when they first started coming. And they’re like 19 now, and I can have a normal conversation with them. Like two people, not with the band in the middle. It’s not the 14-year-old girl or 14-year-old dude who’s just freaking out. It’s awesome to see everything grow and grow up.
Now that the new album is well on its way, what is going to give this band its legs in the long run?
GN: To be honest, we just really want to make a great record.
JO: More so, it’s just going to be the music. Let everybody else weed themselves out by buying into everything else around them. In a world where there is so much music out there, so little attention is paid to the actual music. I think that’s where everyone really is messing up right now. I think that hopefully, that levelheadedness—is that a word?—hopefully that’s what’s going to give us our legs. Hopefully, we never buy into the BS around us.
How much does recording the albums yourself contribute to that level-headedness?
JO: I just think that’s the truest form of who we are at this point in time; the five of us collectively writing and recording a song and whatever it sounds like, that’s our band at that point in time.
GN: It’s not about it being produced or some A-and-R dude coming in the room saying, “That guitar part doesn’t work.” It’s like, “Fuck you, man. You can’t tell me what I need to play.” You know what I mean?
JO: I have a good feeling that our fans and people who listen to us will kind of be able to get that sense and that feel.
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