The Maine and friends in Tucson

So local boys The Maine will be playing a show on October 28th in Tempe at The Marquee Theatre before dissappearing into the overseas touring abyss. Here's a little taste of how they were when they played in Tucson recently...

It wan evening of band incest...

Do I have your attention?

Every act of the evening had members performing in the other acts of the night. It was like one large band with multiple personalities. The bad seed started first.

Fairline opened the evening with an acoustic set. Dressed like paperboys from the 1930s they played the usual, boring acoustic set that you can hear from most high school bands. They added the twist of providing high pitched whiney vocals to the mix. I think I've hated this band a 100 times before. They played their 3 songs and threatened to do it again, but electric. D

Then Austin Gibbs took the stage to a great excitement of the crowd. He performed a tight Jackie Greene like set (yes, I describe obscure artists with comparisons to obscure artists.) Drummers were switched. Fun was had. I enjoyed his set but was off put by his final and 5th song, which sounded far too Toby Keith for my liking. B

I was very wary of This Century. As a matter of fact I had already written them off as teeny bopper aural fodder. They won me over. Their show was a high energy, toe tapping delight led by their charismatic front man Joel Kanitz. He controlled the mesmerized, capacity crowd, entertaining and acting as if every audience member was a personal friend. "Salifier" turned up the pop with continued success. "No Way Out" begab a foray into a New Edition (yes, I am that old)sound to end the set. A

Then The Maine event began (yes, the pun was intentional.) The came on with a little more maturity than the previous act and a bit of swagger. Smooth vocals with a tone of fire filled the air. They segued into their song "Girls Do What They Like" and didn't have to sing a single word as the crowd provided every vocal. The evening continued in much of the same manner, high energy pop songs engaging the crowd, who responded with enthusiasm. Then a block of acoustic oriented songs ensued, including a matured, solid performance of "Daisy" and a brillant cover of Outkast's "Roses." "Whoever She Is" brought a return to the electric with a very Mathchbox 20 delivery, which I think continued to highlight the grown up direction of the young band. Then things got scary, as they proceded to play the Clash's "Should I Stay or Should I Go." I immediately pictured the pop band commiting great hubris to the punk deities. To my surprise they pulled off a decent, straight forward version of the tune. Then "123" was played and it raised the pop meter above my liking, but the young girls absorbed every ounce. "Everthing I Asked For" opened up a change of tone in the set as the songs became radio friendly songs but with some welcomed distortion and angst which prevented the feeling that the set was running to long. A

The Maine may be too poppy for most, but if you like having fun, I suggest you put the attitude away for a second, and let yourself enjoy!!