Maroon 5, Sarah Bareilles, Ry Cuming @ Rod Laver Arena (05/05/2011)
Adam Levin on stage in Melbourne.
The fangirls were out in full-form for Maroon 5's first performance in Melbourne, and Australia, since early 2008, eager to catch a glimpse of heart throb Adam Levine. As the crowd, slightly full of a rather large unexpected amount of males, inched closer towards the stage, the lights dimmed and Australian-born Ry Cuming took to the stage in a solo acoustic performance.
Despite opening with a simple rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Cuming failed to capture the audiences attention. Although I enjoyed his casual and stripped-back songs, much of the crowd around me was clearly restless and bored, despite the clear display of talent on stage.
However, Sara Bareilles proved to be an excellent follow up, outshining Cuming's set almost instantly as her and her band jumped into a cover of Cee-Lo Green's Fuck You. Her cheeky, cute attitude paired with piano-based songs with a funky vibe were an excellent combination for this crowd, as everyone began to move their bodies to the beat. Her hit, Love Song, amped up the crowd as the entire arena sung along, with Bareilles pausing to let the crowd sing the final chorus.
Midway through the set, a "special guest" was invited on stage; Ben Abraham, a young singer-songwriter from Melbourne joined Bareilles and the band to sing a cover of I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen. Bareilles ended the set with a solo song entitled Gravity; although beautiful, by this stage, the crowd were restless from waiting for Maroon 5 and the piece was perhaps too slow to fully capture the audience's attention.
The anticipation increased during the half an hour before Maroon 5; finally, the lights dimmed and an intro track began to play as the band (minus Levine) walked on stage and picked up their instruments, creating sounds that were slightly reminiscent of hit single Misery. Soon enough, Levine bounded on stage, taking his position in the centre and raising his arms up as the crowd screamed, before they dived into Misery, proving to be an excellent show opener as fans instantly chanted the lyrics and danced. As the songs progressed, Levine pranced around, appearing a lot more comfortable on stage than he had been in previous years.
Recent single Give A Little More earned a hearty cheer from the audience, but the song, which personally I love on the album, sounded a little too flat and dull, perhaps due to the lack of any dramatic changes in it. The Sun, one of my favourite songs from first album Songs About Jane, relaxed the mood a bit, and the band seamlessly dipped into a Billie Jean cover before the final verse which fitted in perfectly with the rest of the song; suddenly, guitarist James Valentine and Levine roared into an epic guitar battle finish, daring each other to pull their best guitar tricks as they laughed with each other and lapped up the cheers from the crowd.
Won't Go Home Without You and Never Gonna Leave This Bed followed on, with both songs earning incredibly loud singalongs from the audience. Secret, from Songs About Jane, was next, and once again a cover of Tina Turner's Whats Love Got To Do With It? was interlaced into the song. However this, and the following cover of Al Green's Let's Stay Together, were largely unappreciated by the relatively young crowd, who were clearly not familiar these songs, despite Levine declaring that "everyone knows this next one!"
Bassist Mickey Madden and drummer Matt Flynn left the stage for what is arguably Maroon 5's best song; She Will Be Loved. Valentine began playing the riff on an acoustic guitar as Levine bantered with the crowd, creating a very special atmosphere for what was about to come. Finally, after Levine heckled himself ("Hurry up and sing the song, dickhead!"), they began to play, the crowd erupting into the loudest screams all night. The song was as beautiful as always; however, an extra-special moment occurred when Levine separated the crowd into two halves, asking one side to sing "She will be loved" repeatedly as the other side sung, "I don't mind spending every day / out on your corner in the pouring rain". Although it was difficult to hear the entire sound from the crowd, the looks on the band members faces confirmed that it sounded very, very incredible.
The band powered through Wake Up Call next, with the end riff suddenly transitioning into Shiver, which had several guitar solos and riffed tagged on to the end of it. Flynn began drumming out a strong beat, which transformed into a monstrous riff that introduced the crowd to Stutter. Levine encouraged the crowd over and over to scream the word stutter as he strutted across the stage, beckoning us to yell louder.
The set ended with breakthrough single This Love, which still earnt a large amount of appreciation from the audience despite being several years old now, and the band left the stage for several minutes after blowing our minds with yet another unexpected riff at the end of the song.
The band returned to the sounds of Hands All Over, with Levine shouting, "Put your hands all over me!" Makes Me Wonder continued the show, before the beat slowed down and Levine introduced each band member, telling personal anecdotes of the guys as usual. Flynn treated us to a short drum solo, before the band threw all their energy into Sunday Morning, earning a surprisingly loud cheer. This warm song was a somewhat unusual way to end the show, but it did create, once again, a cheerful atmosphere as the band put down their instruments, and walked to the front of the stage to take a group bow. Levine thanked the audience again, before they all waved goodbye and headed off stage.
Overall, the performance was full of energy as usual, and the interesting and unexpected riffs, and transitions between songs made for a concert which would have taken many by surprise. As a fan whose been seeing Maroon 5 live since 2004, it's always fantastic to see how their performances has developed, as well as how they rework their songs for new tours, and ultimately, it's safe to say that this concert would not have disappointed anyone who was there.
Georgia Hunter
Despite opening with a simple rendition of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, Cuming failed to capture the audiences attention. Although I enjoyed his casual and stripped-back songs, much of the crowd around me was clearly restless and bored, despite the clear display of talent on stage.
However, Sara Bareilles proved to be an excellent follow up, outshining Cuming's set almost instantly as her and her band jumped into a cover of Cee-Lo Green's Fuck You. Her cheeky, cute attitude paired with piano-based songs with a funky vibe were an excellent combination for this crowd, as everyone began to move their bodies to the beat. Her hit, Love Song, amped up the crowd as the entire arena sung along, with Bareilles pausing to let the crowd sing the final chorus.
Midway through the set, a "special guest" was invited on stage; Ben Abraham, a young singer-songwriter from Melbourne joined Bareilles and the band to sing a cover of I'm On Fire by Bruce Springsteen. Bareilles ended the set with a solo song entitled Gravity; although beautiful, by this stage, the crowd were restless from waiting for Maroon 5 and the piece was perhaps too slow to fully capture the audience's attention.
The anticipation increased during the half an hour before Maroon 5; finally, the lights dimmed and an intro track began to play as the band (minus Levine) walked on stage and picked up their instruments, creating sounds that were slightly reminiscent of hit single Misery. Soon enough, Levine bounded on stage, taking his position in the centre and raising his arms up as the crowd screamed, before they dived into Misery, proving to be an excellent show opener as fans instantly chanted the lyrics and danced. As the songs progressed, Levine pranced around, appearing a lot more comfortable on stage than he had been in previous years.
Recent single Give A Little More earned a hearty cheer from the audience, but the song, which personally I love on the album, sounded a little too flat and dull, perhaps due to the lack of any dramatic changes in it. The Sun, one of my favourite songs from first album Songs About Jane, relaxed the mood a bit, and the band seamlessly dipped into a Billie Jean cover before the final verse which fitted in perfectly with the rest of the song; suddenly, guitarist James Valentine and Levine roared into an epic guitar battle finish, daring each other to pull their best guitar tricks as they laughed with each other and lapped up the cheers from the crowd.
Won't Go Home Without You and Never Gonna Leave This Bed followed on, with both songs earning incredibly loud singalongs from the audience. Secret, from Songs About Jane, was next, and once again a cover of Tina Turner's Whats Love Got To Do With It? was interlaced into the song. However this, and the following cover of Al Green's Let's Stay Together, were largely unappreciated by the relatively young crowd, who were clearly not familiar these songs, despite Levine declaring that "everyone knows this next one!"
Bassist Mickey Madden and drummer Matt Flynn left the stage for what is arguably Maroon 5's best song; She Will Be Loved. Valentine began playing the riff on an acoustic guitar as Levine bantered with the crowd, creating a very special atmosphere for what was about to come. Finally, after Levine heckled himself ("Hurry up and sing the song, dickhead!"), they began to play, the crowd erupting into the loudest screams all night. The song was as beautiful as always; however, an extra-special moment occurred when Levine separated the crowd into two halves, asking one side to sing "She will be loved" repeatedly as the other side sung, "I don't mind spending every day / out on your corner in the pouring rain". Although it was difficult to hear the entire sound from the crowd, the looks on the band members faces confirmed that it sounded very, very incredible.
The band powered through Wake Up Call next, with the end riff suddenly transitioning into Shiver, which had several guitar solos and riffed tagged on to the end of it. Flynn began drumming out a strong beat, which transformed into a monstrous riff that introduced the crowd to Stutter. Levine encouraged the crowd over and over to scream the word stutter as he strutted across the stage, beckoning us to yell louder.
The set ended with breakthrough single This Love, which still earnt a large amount of appreciation from the audience despite being several years old now, and the band left the stage for several minutes after blowing our minds with yet another unexpected riff at the end of the song.
The band returned to the sounds of Hands All Over, with Levine shouting, "Put your hands all over me!" Makes Me Wonder continued the show, before the beat slowed down and Levine introduced each band member, telling personal anecdotes of the guys as usual. Flynn treated us to a short drum solo, before the band threw all their energy into Sunday Morning, earning a surprisingly loud cheer. This warm song was a somewhat unusual way to end the show, but it did create, once again, a cheerful atmosphere as the band put down their instruments, and walked to the front of the stage to take a group bow. Levine thanked the audience again, before they all waved goodbye and headed off stage.
Overall, the performance was full of energy as usual, and the interesting and unexpected riffs, and transitions between songs made for a concert which would have taken many by surprise. As a fan whose been seeing Maroon 5 live since 2004, it's always fantastic to see how their performances has developed, as well as how they rework their songs for new tours, and ultimately, it's safe to say that this concert would not have disappointed anyone who was there.
Georgia Hunter