I discovered Maroon 5 during my vacation in Europe in 2003. Their single, Harder to Breathe was slowly climbing the US charts, and since I liked the song, I decided to buy their CD which was on sale in a 'tiangge' in central Oslo - for like 100 kroners! It then became one of my favorite CDs for that year! I became sick of the band though when This Love became such a monstrous hit that when I came back here, every place I went to that had a band - from Cebu to Manila - just had to sing that song! Anyhow, the band shocked everyone when they won the Grammy Best New Artist the following year - upending Kanye West, who was a heavy favorite!
Vic and I missed their last concert here. At that time, we bought tickets for the HK show but due to problems with appointments, we decided to give it away - and missed also the show here! Feedback from that show said that the concert was really short!
Well, this one was short too - starting around 9PM and ended around 10:30! Even then, I actually liked the compact nature of the show - and the selections the band decided to play. One thing though - Adam Levine is definitely the sexiest rocker I know now - of any band. In person - he's fit and trim - and has those tattoos all over his arms which adds to his sex appeal. He also has that killer voice - high yet masculine.
I actually checked their set list tonight - and it was similar to their other shows except for the song that they decided to cover. One advantage of knowing what they're going to sing is that I knew I had to enjoy their first seven songs because all of my favorites were there. At least after that segment, I could just sit down and relax! They opened with 'Misery' - sans fanfare or prolonged introduction segments. They just shut off all the lights and the band came on! Then they followed it up with their collaboration with Rihanna - If I Ever See Your Face Again - then Harder to Breathe, Give A Little More, The Sun (one of my favorite songs from their debut album), Won't Go Home Without You, and my favorite now - Never Gonna Leave this Bed. So after that segment, I decided to get a drink - just a Sprite and sat down for about two songs. In the Gold B segment, everyone was standing on their seats - effectively blocking the Silver people - who had no seats and were just standing - they were all pissed at us! Even then, there were three huge screens anyway where they could see Adam perform.
Yes, I did sing along with them - especially in Harder to Breathe and Never Gonna Leave This Bed! They also did a sing-along version for She Will Be Loved where they divided the audience into two - and each part sang a different line - and we had to sing it together - a technique which some choirs use. It was fun to do and to listen too!
Yes, I also got a shirt - it was a tad expensive at a thosand bucks butt he cloth was very soft - and it ahd the concert itinerary at the back! I also bought a poster - which you can get when you buy their CD - a usual marketing ploy! I have another concert poster for my room - yippeee!!
The band plays solidly and it's interesting how they segue from pop to pop-rock to rock in their song selections. I believe Hands All Over is really all out pop! I'm curious as to what direction they're taking their band after this!
