If there’s one thing you can say about The Maine, it’s that they know how to put together a great show from top to bottom. During the concert I attended in Washington, D.C. at the legendary 9:30 Club, The Maine’s first headlining tour in nearly 2 years, the experience was incredible. The energy in the crowd was fairly consistent from the time Broadside took the stage, things kept moving during Grayscale, and the audience vibed with the synth rock of Nightly. The Maine proved they belonged on top of the billing, and possibly the world, with a career-spanning set of 22 songs that had at least one track from each of the band’s ten studio albums.
Broadside
Broadside were a great pick to open the “I Love You…But I Chose The Maine” tour as they wasted little time getting to the business at hand, and blazed through a 7-song set that leaned more heavily on their great new record, Nowhere At Last. Lead singer, Ollie Baxxter commanded the stage with veteran ease, and the crowd seemed into the new material, plus songs from Hotel Bleu and Into The Raging Sea, among other albums. A steady stream of crowd surfers didn’t seem to phase Broadside as they breezed through their setlist and thanked the 9:30 Club security for keeping everyone safe in the chaos.
Grayscale
After the great performance from Broadside, Grayscale entered the 9:30 Club stage with the utmost confidence and swagger to their approach to their set. While I was mostly unfamiliar with Grayscale’s music, they won me over with their great stage presence, emotive vocals, and a rockin’ cover of “Twist and Shout” in their 10-song setlist. Grayscale played more of their new material from The Hart, while still adding nice surprises to their energetic performance. Lead singer Collin Walsh began the performance donned with a heavy black jacket, but unsurprisingly ditched the garb for a more comfortable tank-top later on.
Nightly
If there was any band that seemed vastly different than the rest of the lineup, it was the Nashville synth-pop band, Nightly. The crowd in the pit was probably a little thankful for the brief reprieve in the steady stream of crowd surfers that came during the first two bands, as Nightly vibed over their slick brand of 80’s inspired pop rock. Much like Grayscale, Nightly were allotted a ten-song setlist that allowed for a great club environment under the heavy glow of purple neon lights in their stage setup.
The Maine
After a recording played Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” over the house speakers, The Maine took the stage armed with their instruments to make the live debut of their song “Green” from Joy Next Door. Even though the record had only been out for a few days, the crowd seemed to know every lyric, and happily sang back every note to John O’Callaghan. The Maine launched into “I Think About You All The Time” and “Die To Fall”, and I couldn’t help but feel like the songs from Joy Next Door had a bit more punch or “bite” to them in the live setting that was missing from the final studio versions.
The middle of the set never sagged under the weight of their expansive discography, with deep cuts such as “Like We Did (Windows Down)” and the standalone single of “Touch” taking off. The photo of cellphones lighting up the 9:30 Club (below) was taken during the performance of “Taxi” from the band’s Lovely Little Lonely record, and was a standout moment in the set that was filled with so many enjoyable parts.
The Maine were on top of their game throughout the career-spanning performance that touched on just about everything they’ve done over their career, with the exception of the Dyed (2008-2023) compilation. After a performance like this from The Maine, it makes you a lifelong fan and believer in the power of their music. Turns out that my Joy Next Door really was just a few miles away from my house.
