Another month long MIA/sabbatical/return-from-the-dead post from this here li'l blog o' mine. Sigh. Really there's just not been anything much going on that I can purposefully blog about. Though some would argue that anything would be worth blogging about even if it's just something as it would be better than nothing. I'm just doing my obligated duty to keep this site floating amidst an almost dead site from drowning deeper into oblivion.
Anywhos. The real reason I'm here today at the end of the month, not only to resuscitate my blog, but for an actual, purposeful and real reason.
Last night Maroon 5 descended upon Melbourne at the Rod Laver Arena for their live concert of their world tour. Yes, those same dudes that brought you funky love ballads and addictive sounding songs a few years ago and who are now back.
Truthfully I really found their latest album better than their last one even though some people may beg to differ. There is a definite different feel and more mature tone to the album and their sound just feels like they've grown up since their first album. The songs sound a lot better and the lyrics are just spot on especially when you have someone like Adam Levine on vocals to carry the words.
So we arrived at the show, (V and I), slightly later than we had intended to because of the freaking trams being packed with Maroon 5 fans that not even a size 0 model could have squeezed herself into. Nonetheless, after almost twenty minutes waiting, which we could have gotten there faster on foot if we didn't wait, we managed to arrive there among the throngs of people already amped and ready to see M5.
We barely made it to catch the last two or three songs performed by Brandi Carlile who was one of the two opening acts. She had a really good voice but I think everyone was just really more interested and invested into when Maroon 5 was going to come on stage and not really focused on her performance albeit a really good one, I'm sure.
The next opening act was OneRepublic. Yeah, those other dudes who crooned 'Apologize' and 'Stop and Stare' that have been played to death on radio. They were quite intense and the main vocalist seemed like he was channeling Maksim Mrvica when he was on the piano. Awesome performance with the aforementioned two songs which the audience sang along too and just overall great job getting the crowd riled up.
And finally, the main course arrived in the form of the opening song 'Little of your time' which was my favourite song of the night. That song is stuck in my head right now and it was a great upbeat start to their performance. The full set list of songs can be read in this Maroon 5 fan blog and also the other reviews of their performances in Perth and Singapore.
Back to Adam, he was just schmoozing and oozing sex appeal throughout the night and in every song you can see his passion show so intimately. The man was on fire! He more or less stole the show and had the ladies screaming and aching for more Levine love throughout and long after the show was over. His shirt looked quite tight and I kept thinking that he was going to rip it off and toss it to the crowd below at any moment. Alas, it was just wishful thinking.
The camera was almost always focused on him the entire time, not that I'm complaining, and the big screen TVs captured every emotion on his face. The stage was really well done up and the entire stadium was nearly packed to the brim with fans. The lighting effects was really good and beautiful but I can't say too much about the sound system because there were a few instances in certain songs where the music and bass overshadowed Adam's luminescent voice.
Halfway through 'Won't Go Home Without You' Adam had the audience take out our mobiles and wave in the air with the lights dimmed down really low. The effect was really beautiful and serene with everyone just enjoying the moment of being enveloped in the darkness amidst the soft shining glow and Adam's mesmerising voice. That was probably one of the main highlights of the evening aside from his rather cute attempt at stand-up comedy.
Oh, I forgot to mention one crucial thing, which if not for that I wouldn't even be writing this right now. The whole thing actually planned itself out just one week ago. I originally had no intention of going to this show but I managed to stumble onto a pair of tickets on eBay and the lovely lady sold them to me at original cost. Our seats were really quite good as it was near to the floor area but situated on the tiered seats where we basically could see everything from the stage to the back of the stadium. And of course soaking in all the Adam awesomeness as much as we can for 90 AUD tickets each.
Overall, I have to say it was a very enjoyable show even though it was definitely way too short for my liking and would have wished to see them play for another half hour at least because just as we were getting into 'She will be loved' they had to go. We thought that they were going to return but the lights went on and we were basically just went "pfft"! In any case, Maroon 5 is a great live performing band who know how to play to the crowd and get you riveted and excited throughout their show. I would definitely attend another of their shows again but only if they play for a full 2 hours plus at least a three or five songs encore.
A solid 8.8/10. I was on a perpetual high since last night but the feeling's dissipating now enough for me to calmly regale you with this overdue update.
