Maximo Park

A group of four fairly well-built, over 6ft, particularly masculine males are bonding tonight. The sounds of Maximo Park in the background and the mix of way too many rounds of Carlton Draught make for an extremely amusing image. The sight of these four mates standing around in a huddle screaming the lyrics of The Park to each other summed up the night for me.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this five-piece from Newcastle, England.

By the time I get to the Corner Hotel, halfway through Riff Random’s set, the place already smells strongly of mixed body odour and there is an extremely eclectic group of people gathered around. The black stovepipe jeans, smudged eye make-up and over-sprayed hair are abundant. However, there are also quite a lot of people who are just after good music. It’s obvious that the show is sold out. There was a intense buzz building and radiating in the room as the punters sway and tap their feet to Riff Random’s catchy beats and interesting guitar sounds. This is the first time that they perform as a five-piece, with their new member, ‘Dr. Carl’ on bass. There’s plenty of screaming and guitar feedback used with Riff Random and they do a fine job hyping up the already-excited crowd, ending the set with a tune appropriately named ‘Shut up and Dance’.

Then comes the waiting. The room moves two steps forward as Riff Random step offstage. There’s shuffling for toilet breaks and trips to the bar, and there’s always the people who turn up late and expect to magically score a killer spot in time for the headlining act. Many are successful, as I find myself suddenly about 5 metres to the right of my original position. But once Maximo Park appear, none of this seems to matter.

They are a highly entertaining and theatrical live act. Dressed sharply in dark hues, with front man Paul Smith complete in suit and tie. The songs are short and sweet, and performed extremely tightly. There isn’t a single fault in the set. The dance moves are perfectly in sync with the song breaks with Smith and keyboardist Lukas Wooller knowing exactly when to do the ‘robot arms’ or when to snap back.

The crowd know it too - singing along, shaking their hair and pounding their fists into the air along with the band. It’s surprising to see how strong Maximo Park’s following is, and the band express this too. Smith ends each song with a sincere “thanks a lot”, and taking the time to explain and introduce each new tune. Musically, they are no-nonsense and straight to the point, and successfully fill an hour and ten minute set very well, considering they have only released one record.

The set ends sweetly after a two-song encore. Both the crowd and band seem to walk away from the gig very satisfied. Until next time.

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