X-Ray Vision

The Maccabees
matter, London, February 20

The Maccabees club gig at O2 venue matter, with opener V.V. Brown. matter (not capitalized), ended up being a much bigger and slicker venue than I was anticipating, part of the massive O2 complex, where I'll incidentally be seeing The Killers on Monday night. Opener V.V. Brown was a pleasant surprise; some catchy throwback stuff that sounded like an upbeat Amy Winehouse b-side. The crowd was fairly low-key during her set, so we assumed it would be a relaxed gig. The mix of indie kids there for the Maccabees and ordinary club-goers seemed to confirm this.

Oh, how wrong we were.

The crowd went insane as soon as The Maccabees arrived on stage, opening with an up tempo newer track. (I could see the set list from my very front row spot, wish I'd remembered to snap a picture of it for song titles.) My side of the crowd went especially crazy as we were in front of incredibly enthusiastic guitarist Felix White, who really steals the show from the rest of the band with his hyperactive dancing as well as sharp melodies.

The set itself was relatively short, seven or eight songs that skewed largely toward newer material that wasn't on the original release of Colour It In. Tracks from their debut album got the biggest response from the enthusiastic crowd, though. X-Ray, Precious Time, and especially First Love incurred dancing more violent than I've seen since...well, last year's femur-endangering Wombats gig. The Maccabees sound great live, even though the balance of vocals to guitar could have been better at times, and they chose an upbeat set that kept the crowd moving, although a break with a more relaxed song like Toothpaste Kisses might have been in order after the third or fourth time they had to tell the crowd to stop pushing forward. They closed with the single from their upcoming album, which should be a sharp, peppy continuation of Colour It In if the tracks from tonight are representative.

Although the crowds are sometimes a little...too enthusiastic here, it's great to see people really getting into the music. I feel like that's the main difference between the music scenes in America and Britain. People here seem really excited about up and coming bands and usually know the music at gigs, even unreleased tracks. Fans tonight were requesting b-sides and songs that have only made the internet rounds. Americans seem so much more content to be spoon-fed whatever piece of overproduced Rihanna drivel is being pumped out by Island or Warner Brothers that week, but Brits seem incredibly eager to give new bands a chance. It makes sense that most of the iconic bands, from the Beatles up to Oasis, have been British. The love of music comes through in the songs, and the bands themselves seem to be having a much better time than most of the morose or overly corporate, professional acts (ie. Panic at the Disco, Nickelback and their hundred ripoffs), that come from America. It's just a more organic, DIY feel, down to the merch, and it feels great.