Posted on June 8, 2009 - by Ellie Crean

Wild Park

For a while now I’ve been watching copycat indie bands come and go and I’ve listened to criticism about the music of today being artificial and live shows not being what they used to be; and for the majority of it, I’d agree. Usually, going to a gig today just consists of the bands turning up, running through the songs, and then that’s it. It’s not a performnce in the “Queen” sense of the word. No showmanship and total lack of energy.

However, after going to a recent Maximo Park gig I realised what was missing from bands today: great frontmen. Vocalist (and also dancer, it seems at the live shows) Paul Smith was truly mesmerising to watch as he stared into the crowd with the eyes of a madman and flung himself around the stage. Not only does he have an impressive energy but he also makes a strong connection with the audience – something else that’s missing in the “frontmen” who just stand behind their mikes and hide behind their mops of hair, hoping their regional accents will be enough to impress. (And yes, I’m fully aware Paul Smith has a strong Newcastle accent when singing…)

Smith’s smiles, charisma and slightly tongue-in-cheek approach is reminiscent of the sort of stage act adopted by Bon Scott (minus the bare chest and denim shorts). Granted, his actual vocals would never match up to a singer such as Scott himself but you are drawn in in the same way and feel that you are viewing a special performance comprised of raw energy and a genuine passion for the music. When the band themselves are having this much fun, it is near impossible for the audience not to feel the same way.

On that night, my faith in modern music and live shows was restored. I will have to accept that there will never be another Jim Morrison or Mick Jagger but when the world has already seen the best, how can we expect that to be beaten?

Maximo Park – “A certain trigger”

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