Maximo Park, The Silents @Club Capitol, Perth(19/8/2007)

Thu 23rd Aug, 2007 in Gig Reviews

Bringing their super-catchy pop rock songs down to Australia, Maximo Park ended their Japanese and Australian tour at Club Capitol, here in little old Perth. The last show of a tour has the potential to be either severely lacking, or absolutely amazing. Fortunately for the sellout crowd, it was the latter.

Opening the night was The Silents, after Operator Please had to pull out of the gig due to illness. Despite not being the first preference, they put on a fantastic show, the four of them producing their darker 1960s folk pop sounds without ever sounding old or out of date. There was always a question of how their melancholic sound would translate live, but this performance showed there is nothing to worry about. Mature, smooth, and flawless, they exuded a kind of gentle charisma that kept the crowd sufficiently interested before Maximo Park.

After the tense wait following The Silents, the audience shuffled to get their best view before four silhouettes made their way to the stage, taking to their instruments before a very responsive crowd that seemed a little puzzled by the lack of vocalist Paul Smith. Peering around the stage in search of the vocalist was a pointless move, for as the larger-than-life Smith finally came to the stage, he made his presence very clear. Bouncing and launching himself around, he soaked up the attention and energy from the audience, and gave it back tenfold.

Launching themselves into opening song The Coast is Always Changing, the five-piece boasted such an abundance of energy that their presence alone was enthralling, perfectly complementing their always catchy tunes. The set was all go from the opener and, considering how much they had thrown into the first three songs, you’d imagine they’d be exhausted early on – but it seems as though touring and performing like this so regularly has them all fit enough to go without stopping. Never for a moment did they slow, Smith always flailing, jumping, dancing and never standing still made the live show seem like an aerobic video on fast forward.

Taking a much needed breath, Smith introduced Books From Boxes as a love song, though he admitted it was not as good as some other great love songs. The band need not mind though, because pretty much everyone in Capitol fell in love with Maximo Park on the night.

Towards the end of their set, Smith took a moment to bask in the limelight (not that he wasn’t doing this at any other moment he could, either) and ask Perth if their city really was the most isolated city in the world. When the crowd confirmed this, the frontman then asked if it was a good or a bad thing. Mixed responses were shouted back at him, but in light of this gig, being the most isolated city became a good thing, as the band seemingly celebrated the end of their tour.

The set was loaded a variety of favourites, including current single Girls Who Play Guitars and impressive album track By the Monument, but came to and end with Going Missing from 2005 debut album A Certain Trigger. After a short thank you, the band retreated backstage but, despite them having put on an excellent and satisfying show, the crowd knew they could get more. Sure enough, after some loud cheering and the roadies pretending they were packing up, the band burst back onstage before Smith thanked the crowd again and announced that this was the last show of their tour and that they were not going to leave until they had “poured out every last drop”, which they proceeded to with an encore of Kiss You Better and Sandblasted and Set Free before bringing an end to the show and the tour with hit single and fan favourite Graffiti.