It's a cold Saturday morning. Waiting in line since 12pm, I watched as fans of Arizona rock band 'The Maine" showed up one by one decked out in golden yellow (per the band's request). As the evening grew colder, the doors finally opened for the sold-out show and one by one everyone piled into the venue trying to avoid the cold. Upon entering the venue a voice can be overheard over the speakers. "Welcome to The Mirror tour!" The pre-show playlist that was played while we waited for the nights opening band "Twin XL" to play, included the classic pop-punk hits with songs from Sum 41, The 1975 and other songs for the crowd to get excited for. 8pm rolls around and Twin XL takes the stage. They were nothing short of entertaining. Fans whipping out neon sunglasses during the band's song 'Sunglasses' and then waving around glowsticks to 'Neon Summer'. Everyone around me, including myself, had such a fun time during Twin XL's set. I was actually sad when it was over!
As everyone is waiting for the night's main event (no pun intended!), the preshow playlist from before begins to play once more. Suddenly, the music stops, orchestral music begins to play, as well as a countdown appearing on the screen center stage. 45 seconds to go. Then 30. Then 20. 10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1. A video introduction plays and The Maine comes onto the stage. A few people already throwing their yellow flowers they brought with them onto the stage. Nonstop dancing and fun were being had, as lead vocalist John O'Callaghan instructs everyone to sing, even if they did not know the words, he wanted them to sing and have fun! About halfway through the night began the part where I became quite emotional. As soon as the song "Lonely" began to play I had tears streaming down my face. Going from such an emotional song into "How Do You Feel?" where jumping was encouraged, my tears quickly turned into smiles once more. After all that, John made his way to the B-Stage for an acoustic rendition of "(Un)Lost". Bringing up an audience member to sing the chorus with him turned out to be a surprise engagement for a beautiful couple named William and Riley. (She said yes by the way!) John then returned to the main stage to finish the remainder of the band's set. The Maine's final song was 'Flowers On The Grave', which is a beautiful 9-minute song and one of my personal favorites off their newest album. Once again I had tears running down my face and we all began to throw our yellow roses onto the stage. After the show, I turned to my best friend who was in attendance with me and we both just cried into each other's arms. Quite the comforting moment if you ask me. The band ended the night by hanging around inside the venue meeting fans as they have been doing for years.
Overall, The Maine put so much effort into their shows and you can tell that they love all of their fans so much and want nothing more than for them to feel good! I would definitely recommend going to catch them on tour if you ever get the chance because you will NOT be disappointed! The Maine continue their tour all the way until November 30th so please try and catch a show if you want to have a really fun night with friends old and new!
