“What this? Nah, I'm not a reviewer, I'm just er, taking drinks orders!"
Luckily I make it through the night without being lynched, but perhaps this review should be written under a fake name to avoid any reprisals? Devine's outburst came just after he said: “We're not liked here” and I'm afraid that I will have to add my own insults to what is apparently a growing list.
Die-hard fans of the Los Angeles five piece clearly had a good time but for me the performance was just a bit flat. Too many songs tonight dragged on unnecessarily, so much so that it began to feel like we had gate crashed a jamming session at times. Slower numbers fizzled out to nothing and just seemed a bit dull. It was the first night of their UK tour, so maybe the lads will need some time to get into the swing of things. But I for one would have been pretty disappointed to have forked out thirty-odd quid for tonight's performance.It didn't help that crowd favourites Harder to Breathe and It Makes Me Wonder came relatively early in the set, leaving big gaps in the middle with nothing to get really excited about. Even This Love, their big tune, failed to get things pumping as I might have thought. There were high points but these were disappointingly few and far between in a sea of mediocrity. There is no denying that the guys are top class musicians, with Levine and James Valentine wowing the audience at times with their skills on their guitars.
Crowd interaction was good with Levine instructing the fans to wave their mobile phones aloft, creating a sky of shiny white light. An intimate version of She Will Be Loved during the encore was also a highlight and Levine's vocal range was pretty impressive. It's just that a lot of the set simply seemed like filler while we waited for the good bits.
There was a lack of oomph and the gig didn't provide the levels of excitement and entertainment that you would expect in an arena. It also finished disappointingly early at just after ten, and I wonder how many paying customers left feeling a tad ripped off. So I'm going to put 'must do better' on the Maroon 5 report card I'm afraid. And I'm also going to give Mr Levine detention for swearing at journalists. Naughty boy.
Red Or Dead: Dan Palmer
Seeing Red: Chris Wray-McCann
