Bristol O2 Academy, 10th October 2022
Maxïmo Park returned to Bristol on Monday 10th October, just a little over a year after their last show at Trinity Centre celebrating their latest album “Nature Always Wins”. This time they return with their “Singular” tour comprising of a setlist of singles from across their 7 albums and 20+ year career.
Opening up the proceedings of the evening were relative newcomers, Pip Blom, who released their debut album, “Boat”, in 2019 and are out touring their 2021 follow up “Welcome Break”. They provided an incredible opening set to get things warmed up with an incredibly tight, albeit brief, set. The whole band exuberated energy and joy but particular attention needs to be drawn to Gini Cameron’s ferocious drumming on tracks such as “Daddy Issues” and “Keep it Together”.
With the crowd suitably warmed up Maxïmo Park hit the stage with the incredibly catchy “All of Me” from the aforementioned latest album. Despite being in this game for a lot longer than Pip Blom they match the energy straight out of the gate and don’t drop it for the entire performance.
Paul Smith has always been a charismatic frontman and today is no different as he darts around the stage and wearing a t-shirt declaring “No War. That’s not the only reference to politics with comments on the state of our current government and dedicating “The National Health” to “all your local Tory MPs”. His wry humour is also at the forefront today with self-deprecating comments that “What Equals Love” should “have at least been number 73 in the charts” and how the tour is purely to fund their recent one-off single “Great Art”.
Despite the band losing two of its founding members over the last few years, the current unit consisting of Smith, Duncan Lloyd (lead Guitar), Tom English (drums) as well as touring members Jemma Freese (keyboards, backing vox) and Andrew Lowther (bass) manage to retain the buoyant energy of the back catalogue.
The set tonight is comprised of songs picked from a poll that the band put out ahead of the tour, however, we’re told that about “3 people voted…so they’re to blame.” There’s a heavy dose of nostalgia for earlier tunes with “Going Missing” (one of the first songs the band ever written by the band in Newcastle” and “I Want You To Stay” and “Karaoke Plays”. However, unsurprisingly the biggest singalongs are reserved for their two biggest hits “Apply Some Pressure” and “Graffiti”.
Whilst these are the songs the bands are most recognised for, the singles from later albums showcase why the band have been able to continue for so long and not be categorised as a nostalgia-only band like many of their peers from the early 00s indie scene. “Get High (No, I Don’t)” and “What Equals Love?” from their 6th album “Risk To Exist” get the crowd moving, whilst the emotive “Versions of You” from their latest album showcases the evolution of maturity in their sound and song writing.
Overall, the set shows that Maxïmo Park haven’t lost their passion for performing and are still able to able to continue evolving whilst always being appreciative of the songs that got them where they are today. Here’s to 20 more years!
Craig J Simmonds Media
