Returning to the Southampton stage after 3 years, The Maccabees graced the Guildhall on Tuesday night. Playing to an almost-sold out crowd, the five piece from London treated the audience to a collective mix of old and brand new tracks. Opening with current single ‘Marks To Prove It’ from their July release of the same name, The Maccabees set an explosive, upbeat and impressive precedent that was to last throughout. Front man Orlando Weeks then effortlessly maneuvered the spellbound crowd through more new songs such as ‘Kamakura’ and ‘Spit It Out’, which at one moment had the audience swaying slowly to his silky-smooth vocals, and the next jumping wildly – and trying not to get elbowed in the face – to the exhilarating mix of guitar and trumpet solos.
However, not to linger solely on Weeks, the rest of the band were just as captivating to watch, all with beaming smiles and an obvious passion for live shows which is inspiring for a band that have been doing this since 2004.
In reference to their long history and in dedication to a group of fans, who, as guitarist Felix White explained, had been queuing outside since 5pm, The Maccabees stole the show with ‘X-Ray’; and in the process united old and new fans in the audience.
Rounding off their performance with slower numbers ‘Grew Up at Midnight’ and ‘WWI Portraits’, the band certainly did not fail to disappoint. Their encore included the always too short ‘Toothpaste Kisses’ which every indie hipster can sing all the words to even if they couldn’t tell you who The Maccabees are – as well as ‘Pelican’, another well-loved classic NME readers rave about.
All in all, The Maccabees were warmly welcomed back to the bright lights of Southampton and the incredibly positive reaction from the crowd affirms their latest album, which had originally seen fans skeptical, as a success.
