It had been far too long since I had last seen The Maine (shoutout to Sad Summer 2019), so I was stoked to be able to catch them in Orlando for their latest run of shows in support of their latest album, XOXO: From Love & Anxiety In Real Time.
Charlotte sands started off the show, easily bringing the energy of the crowd up. Fans of The Maine were familiar with Charlotte, thanks to her feature on “Loved You A Little”, but she proved that her songs are just as catchy, and she didn’t need anything more than a drummer to help her prep the crowd for the rest of the show.
The Happy Fits were a welcome surprise, pairing together classical instrumentation with the alt-rock stylings everyone was familiar with. You’d have thought they were headlining the show themselves, with the energy they were bringing to the stage. Each of the members were clearly stoked to be there on the stage, and made sure everyone knew that they were having just as good of a time as the crowd was. I bumped into their drummer upstairs during The Maine’s set, at which point he thanked me for photographing the show (I’ve never been thanked for that before, so you’re welcome!) and checking out the band before he went to meet some excited fans.
To no one’s surprise, The Maine did what they did best: perform a show that was better than the last time you saw them, proving that they’re always upping their game, with a few surprises up their sleeves. Fan-favorite track “How Do You Feel?” won the vote to be played that night, but between John’s interactions with fans in the crowd and surprise songs being played (shoutout to a fan named Miguel whose suggestion of him playing drums got the group to play “Everything I Ask For”), I never really knew what was coming next.
From classic tracks all fans know and love, to some deep-cuts and newer installments in their discography, the setlist had a little something for everyone, new fans and elder emos alike. The Maine never disappoints, nor do they show any signs of stopping their streak of being one of my all-time favorite bands to see live.
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