Arkells, This Century, The Maine - Electric Ballroom, London

It's not often when I drag Rob out to a gig for a band I like that he goes straight to the merch stand after their set and buys a CD.  But that's what happened with the Arkells.  They had the whole rock thing right down, the audience was fully engaged despite this being the first band on.  We'll eagerly be looking out for their return to the UK - the Jackson Square CD that we picked up at the show was on the hifi for the whole of the next day and the songs Pullin Punches and Whistleblower are firmly fixed in my head.

Second up was This Century, and it seems that although this is only the first time in the UK, a lot of the audience had done their homework and were already familiar with their music.  It was like a giant singalong/dancealong and I think even the band were surprised.  Having said that, The Maine are excellent at promoting the bands they take on tour with them, and they seem to have pretty good taste.  I think it was more my kind of thing than Rob's, but with a number of EPs and a full length record under their belts, I will be watching and listening with interest for what happens in the future.  I hope that they will be back in the UK, because it seems that they will be pretty popular with people here and again they looked and sounded great on the stage.

Onto The Maine then.  Although Pioneer was released at the end of last year in the US, it was only officially put out in the UK recently with the addition of 6 extra songs (Pioneer & The Good Love).  When I first heard the new songs, I thought, yeah, I could see maybe why they didn't make it onto Pioneer.  By the time I'd heard them through twice I was sitting there going 'These are my favourite songs they've ever done.  Ever'.  Sometimes I listen and I hear bits of old school 50's and 60's rock n roll with the 'oooh-oooh-oooh's' and the 'sha-la-la's' and the 'bye-bye-bye's', and then sometimes I hear something more modern and Killers-esqe, but there's always variety and crazily catchy guitars and drums. In the Maine's whole catalogue, there's not a single song I don't like or skip over, and this is my go-to band when I can't make my mind up what I'm in the mood to listen to.  So I know, when I go to a live show, I'm not going to be disappointed.

The gig was fantastic and it was so good for them to finally get a decent amount of time as the headliners - no offense, but they are too good in their own right to keep playing support to other bands. With 3 full length albums behind them, and this being the Pioneer world tour, we got most of what is on the latest album mixed up with some of the older songs (which are sounding better with age anyway).  

What I like about The Maine is that although you have the recording of a song on a CD at home, when it gets to the stage, they have played around with it and although it might sound a little different, it also sounds brilliant.  The average age of the audience has also gone up, and there were more fellas in the audience - the ones around me were singing along and discussing how fab the band were, which is a nice change from the girls shouting 'John, take your shirt off' - although there's still always one, isn't there? (no, it wasn't me)

So, we came home happy, having done a little dancing, a little singing, a lot of laughing (mainly at Garrett's Celine Dion impression) and now I shall eagerly await them going back into the studio for the next album.  In the meantime, their DVD 'Anthem for a Dying Breed' is out this month and for those in the UK, Pioneer & The Good Love is out on spotify right now.  Go listen.  And then go and buy it. (my favourite is Hello World - I think I may be singing it in my sleep, it's so stuck in my brain).

Meet The Maine - Electric Ballroom, London

Last week was a pretty exciting time for me, since I got to go to a meet and greet with one of my favourite bands.  Whilst these boys usually come and greet fans after the show, my husband is usually dragging me straight towards the tube station at this point, so to be presented with an afternoon Meet the Maine opportunity, well, I jumped at the chance, because quite honestly, I never expected it to be a possibility.  So, at 4pm last weds, having downed half a pint in the pub while everyone else queued in the rain, I joined the queue, got my wristband and headed inside to watch the guys play a couple of songs before they met everyone.  I was still 5 rows back, but that's probably the closest I'll ever get to stageside at these things, too old for all that queueing from 9am malarky.

Then I got in another queue for the meet and greet, got my poster signed by them all, told John about my by-now-quite-upset-husband who had missed Kennedy singing Ice Cave, which is his favourite (he claims it's their big sounding stadium song), and John promised that they would do it next time.  When I got to the other guys, all ability to speak properly had just popped out of my head, so I just about said hi to them all and they were very sweet to me, and then I got this lovely photo taken:

L-R - John, Charlette, Kennedy, Jared, Me, Garrett, Pat

A hug from each of them later (good hugging!) and I was outta there.  Considering what some bands charge for this sort of meet and greet, I paid £15 for this and it included a digital copy of the latest album - so thank you to the guys for not charging the earth and for spending your time doing this when you didn't have to.  It means a lot.

Pioneer release day

Today is an exciting day for me.  It's Pioneer release day.   (You can't miss that cover, can you?)

The Maine first popped onto my radar a few years back.  They were all pretty young back then, on their first full length, a couple of EPs behind them, but with, I'm guessing, someone to tell them what to look like...and popping them into a certain genre... sheesh...Even back then the music lodged itself in my brain and wouldn't get out again.  They went straight into my personal top 5 artist list, where they have remained for the last few years.

Now onto their 3rd full length album with Pioneer, they've gone from awww to phwoar and are all grown up (I know, I know, I can't really talk, at some point you have to at least pretend to act your age).  It's pleasing to see that they are finding their own way and learning to do things on their own terms, a route which a number of bands seem to be taking these days to get control back of the sort of music they want to produce.  Pioneer, pulled together without the Warner record label, is a testament to how much they have changed, and that they felt comfortable taking such risk is good as a fan to see that they have such confidence in their own music.  At the same time, it is clear that it has been a venture undertaken without any of the arrogance that might have come with that - they are humble, nervous and excited enough to wait and see what the reaction is from other people.

Their second album (Black and White) is one of my favourites and without a doubt it's the one I'll always pull out when I'm after a burst of sunshine.  In comparison, Pioneer is much rockier - if Can't Stop, Won't Stop is the cherryade, then Black and White was the fruity alcopop, and Pioneer is the darker, stronger shot of American whiskey. It feels again like an evolution, more serious in some ways and arriving as a sort of statement piece I think - 'This is who we really are'.

A huge favourite for me and the track I can't quite stop playing is 'Heroine', which makes me want to glam up like a rock chick, turn the music up and dirty dance round the flat.  I've seen the live performances on youtube, and although it's slightly different on the album, it's very sexy indeed.

'Some Days' was put out a couple of weeks before the album release, and again, it is stupidly catchy, with the lyrics 'Some days they taste like lemonade, some days can feel like razor blades' and honestly, isn't that so right?  The lyrics are clever and truthful and I think something everyone can relate to.

The others on the album I'll leave you to discover for yourselves, but it's a fantastic mixture of songs with more adult themes and a bunch of different sounds.  The Maine should be proud of what they have achieved with this album.  They should be one of the strongest contenders for best rock band of this generation, especially having seen them find their groove as a unit and raise the roof in a live setting.  I'm absolutely convinced that at still such a young age, if they are already this good, then at some point they will play to Wembley Stadium.

What I love about The Maine is that they are so interactive, one of them is always doing an interview or video, or sending out photos, writing a blog... you name it, they are constantly in touch with people.  Its a band that feels like it has a heart and a soul.  They have been doing track by track info on the new album in the run up to today, and will be doing a live stickam chat tonight to celebrate the release.  Check it out, I promise you won't regret it.  7.30pm PST http://www.stickam.com/themaine   (a little late for those of us in the UK).

Pioneer is out on iTunes now.  The Maine tour the UK with All Time Low early next year.