Photos by Zach Arquilevich.
On their second to last show of their Cinema tour, The Marias dazzled the crowd at the Novo in Los Angeles.
When I first arrived the stage was glowing red to match the color of their debut album, Cinema. Filled with fans ranging from college age to middle aged, the fans behind me chatted in excitement over seeing the band and especially to see Maria herself. The crowd was singing along to the music being played as we patiently waited for the Marias to come out.
Around 9:35, the curtain was pulled off of the prop on stage signifying that the show was about to begin. Maria and her fellow band members walked out and the fans went wild jumping and screaming. One fan behind me had tears in his eyes and I felt so excited for him. Maria looked gorgeous wearing a white tank top paired with a black skirt and black stylish platform boots. The fans behind me were especially loud and excited to see Maria and he made sure to let her know that. As soon as Maria walked on stage the fan yelled, “You’re so fucking beautiful,” and she really was up there. She stood center stage and for a second just stood and smiled and admired the crowd that came to see her perform.
Their first song of the night, Calling You Back, comes off the second single off the album. Fans knew that it was this song from the start as the beat began to play. Maria swayed her hips and her arms along to the beat of the guitar and drums as she made fans scream as she looked their way. I loved Josh’s part in the song as well, just as much as I love hearing it through my headphones. When Josh began to sing, the crowd went wild as he also played the drums.
Maria was beautiful up on the stage as she sang and smiled at the crowd with the music. She held a beautiful stage presence and showed off her signature dance moves swaying her hips left and right to the rhythm of the instruments.
This show in particular was special because drummer Josh Conway is a Los Angeles Native. It was also the second to last show of their tour, so it was like coming home to close the tour. Maria expressed her gratitude and between songs explained how, “it’s crazy playing these songs [they] wrote in [their] apartment.”
One of their standout performances was Hable con Ella because of the trumpet solo that is heard in the beginning of the song. The spotlight shined on the trumpet player as he charmed the crowd with the smooth sound of his trumpet playing later complemented by the rest of the instruments as well as Maria’s voice to top it all off.
This next song, Heavy, Maria introduced by talking about how this song specifically related to that day. She explained to the crowd, “There are some days it’s difficult to get out of bed…and I felt really heavy today.” Despite feeling this intense cloud of sadness, Maria powered through and pulled off a great performance with the band and won over everyone in the crowd through her captivating presence and soothing voice.
She also covered Britney Spears’ famous song, …Baby One More Time and made sure to get the crowd to sing along with her. As a big Britney fan, Maria asked fans to sing as loud as possible as a tribute to Britney. Maria’s cover feels like a psychedelic tribute to Britney’s original version. Maria’s version feels like a trip.
As I walked around the venue, I spotted a couple dancing together in the crowd on the balcony. Dancing in each other’s arms to the beat, it was definitely a core moment I am sure they will never forget. The Marias’ music is hard to not dance to and I found everyone in the crowd bobbing their heads and swaying along to Maria’s voice.
Around 10:20 PM, The Marias said their goodbyes to the crowd and the fans were left waiting. Many began to cheer, demanding for an encore, while others got up and started to leave. Suddenly Maria emerged behind the curtain for a quick encore. She had an outfit change and came out wearing a black shirt paired with a glowing red skirt to match the set lights. The band came out for a quick encore to sing their hits Hush and Carino. Everyone freaked out when they heard the beginning beats of Hush and accompanied Maria during the song. I can tell that this moment was special for The Marias because they pointed out how crazy it was for people to know their music lyric for lyric.
The finale of the show flashed lights that could blind you and the band formed a line and whilst taking in the adrenaline of the crowd, took a final bow to close the show. I had a fun time hearing their music live and was blown away by every individual member’s performance.
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