Review: The Maine

In advance of their sixth studio album (Lovely, Little, Lonely out April 7, 2017 on 8123), The Maine set out on the "Lovely, Little, Lonely World Tour" and the band stopped by Portland's Wonder Ballroom on April 4, days before the release of the album. Out of all the tours, albums, and eras, these guys have never looked or sounded better than they do for Lovely, Little, Lonely.

The stage setup was beautiful, and perhaps is the most intricate and flashy stage the band has had. Behind them was a large red banner with the band name and outline of a rose, LED trees were placed at each corner, scattered across the floor of the stage were multicolored faux roses, these roses were also stitched together and draped over the front of the elevated drum set, and the band's lead vocalist (John O'Callaghan) performed in a floral suit.

What I associate The Maine with the most is their loyal fanbase, their devotion and gratitude to their fans, and the best audience interaction I have seen at a show. Typically, bands will interact with the audience as a whole and ask them to sing along and repeat after them; however, The Maine's lead vocalist John O'Callaghan takes this to a different level. John interacts with individual groups and people in the audience: asking the crowd to quiet down while he asks individual people to sing along, acknowledging and carrying out onstage conversations with audience members, and even inviting a single person to join him onstage. During the band's performance of "Girls Do What They Want," John asked a fan named Mason if he could join him onstage to finish the song. John asked Mason to repeat and sing the chorus after him, and even gave Mason the microphone to continue singing while John jumped and danced around on stage.

For the shows before the release of Lovely, Little, Lonely, the band created a well balanced setlist spanning their entire discography. The Maine opened with their single "black butterflies & déjà vu", and performed other songs that have been missing from setlists such as: "(un)lost", "we all roll along", and "the way we talk".

As they always do, to close the night the band met with fans outside The Wonder Ballroom for a free, intimate, meet and greet. Each band member had prolonged conversations with every fan that came up to them, thanked them for coming out to the show, took pictures, and signed any merch they had brought. Especially with the growing popularity of VIP tickets and paid meet and greets, this is a rarity for bands and is one of the endless reasons The Maine is something special.

Find more dates and tickets for The Maine's Lovely, Little, Lonely World Tour on their website.

Review: Adia Victoria

On tour for her debut album (Beyond the Bloodhounds), Adia Victoria stopped by Portland's Mississippi Studios on February 27, 2017 to perform songs from her album, and some French Pop songs off a soon to be released EP. Here is the review of the show I wrote for KPSU.

Adia Victoria is a blues singer/songwriter from Nashville that writes about topics including love, loss, and her experiences as a black woman in the South. In a Facebook post Adia further describes the blues as "my therapist, my soothesayer, my confidante, my pastor, my priestess, my shaman, my hype man." Near the end of her show in Portland, Adia Victoria pauses before a song to talk about her album and thank the audience for listening and coming out that night. She describes Beyond the Bloodhounds as her stories and a way for her to communicate those experiences, and the blues as a medium granting her the voice and confidence to say the things she couldn't. This vulnerability and honesty is apparent in her performance, paired with her ease and comfort onstage Adia repeatedly made personal comments throughout the show to talk about the songs she was about to play. This exemplifies the meaning behind the lyrics and the stories she is telling, and produces a very powerful performance and audience experience.

Proceeds from record sales in Portland went to benefit homelessness in Nashville. In addition to the solemn realities of Adia Victoria's lyrics, storytelling, and performance representing and inspiring a greater movement, her actions beyond her music reflect the messages she details. With a talented band behind her, solemn and genuine lyrics, and a beautiful and haunting blues sound, Adia Victoria's performance leaves a lingering feeling in the audience on an unforgettable night. Adia Victoria is an incredible artist, and her music and performances are truly something special.

Catch Adia Victoria on tour, tickets are available and cities are listed on her website.

Review: MUNA & Lo Moon

Lo Moon and MUNA brought an emotional, powerful, fun, intimate, and incredible experience to a sold out crowd at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge on February 11, 2017. Here is my review of the show written for KPSU.

Lo Moon

With only the debut single “Loveless” released, Lo Moon is a relatively mysterious band to much of the audience and it’s hard to know what to expect; however, the result from their performance was even more unexpected. Personally, I fall in love with many supporting acts from shows, but I’ve only been to a few where this was the case for the entire audience. There have only been a handful of shows I’ve seen crowds cheer and scream for openers, jump and move along to their music, excitedly discuss how great the band was after the set, and purchase merch/music from after the show (I witnessed Lo Moon sell out of vinyls while I was standing in the merch line). I knew Lo Moon had won the crowd when after their set I heard a man behind me scream, “Encore that shit!” MUNA couldn’t have chosen a better supporting act for their tour; Lo Moon became a favorite for everyone at Doug Fir, and anyone who showed up later in the night missed out on an incredible act.

Follow Lo Moon on twitter/instagram, and listen to their music on spotify/itunes

MUNA

I’ve seen and covered for MUNA one other time, while on tour with Grouplove (found here), but this was a completely different show and something much more special. After the release of their beautiful debut album, about u, MUNA set off on their first headlining tour. If the night couldn’t be more meaningful, MUNA’s show had sold out for the first time ever, merely hours before the show had started. Being at both shows, you can feel the difference from the crowd energy and performance between a supporting and headlining show. The energy from the crowd was unbelievable, and Doug Fir being a smaller, very intimate space certainly helped. Everyone was singing and jumping along to the music, all brimming with smiles and tearing up from the performance, and MUNA was the same. The energy from band members Katie, Naomi, and Josette mirrored the crowd. All three of them were moving and dancing around on stage, smiling back and engaging with the crowd, and having the greatest time on a very special night. Vocalist Katie Gavin stopped the set early on, explaining she doesn’t normally stop the set during this part, but felt compelled to with how much that night and this audience truly meant to her. Katie further explained this was the first time they had sold out a show, and coupled with it being their first headlining tour they felt like “a real band.” This is a show I will never forget and will forever be grateful for attending and being a part of. MUNA is a very special band that stand for something so special, and their album about u is a beautiful masterpiece that (despite it being early in the year) I know will be at the top of my favorites from 2017’s releases.

Follow MUNA on twitter/instagram, and listen to their debut album about u on spotify/itunes