This is going to be the WILDEST article I've ever written. I will be describing this gig in vivid detail. This whole night felt like a dream. Anyway, before I get to my new friends and nearly getting kicked in the face by Paul Smith, let's talk about my history with Maximo Park. I started listening to Maximo Park when I was in 8th grade. I was sitting in my English class after a three hour round of statewide standardized testing, screwing around and playing agar.io on my school-issued laptop. I know. Real mature. Anyway, I was tired of listening to the same music all the time on Spotify. I listened exclusively to Phantom Planet for a month, and I was, sure as heck, over them. I came across my favorite playlist of all time, which shall be linked below: When I saw that photo of some tired, sweaty Strokes, I knew it was going to be good. And it was. My favorite song on that playlist was called Our Velocity. It was by a band called... Well, can you guess? Maximo Park, of course! I loved this song dearly. I didn't want to download it on iTunes immediately, for some reason. I decided to download it on my favorite illegal(?) video-downloading app, instead. That weekend, my mom, aunt, cousin, sister and I drove to Virginia for a gymnastics competition. I listened to Our Velocity for literally. The. Whole. Drive. I loved that song that much. Anyway, fast forward to July 8th, 2016. That was a rough day for me. I remember all of the small details, like hearing Blackout by Breathe Carolina in a Foot Locker and almost getting run over by a Zamboni in Sam's Club. If you read our 2016 recap, you know about that one. We went into Lambertville for dinner that night. The streets felt a bit lonely, but almost magical, in a way. If you've been to Lambertville, you'll know the vibes I'm talking about. It's a little town between the mountains and the river with almost no cell service, and surprisingly good Peruvian cuisine. I didn't eat anything that night. Or the night after. I passed out on the floor after showering and decided that was it. I was done. No amount of almond milk could save me. Fast forward to July 11th. My wifi was out, and we went to the mall to get our router checked out at the Apple Store. When we got home, I decided to lay on the ground in my backyard and watch the sunset. I was listening to Box Codax. I accidentally downloaded a few songs off iTunes from Hellabuster while my wifi was out. Whoops. There goes my cell. But anyway, after twenty minutes of quiet reminiscence on 8th grade and the year it had been, a song that will always be special to me came on shuffle. That song was Maximo Park's Midnight On The Hill. For all of July 2016, I listened to Maximo Park and Box Codax exclusively. If I had to credit two bands with saving my summer, it would be them. Now onto the concert. I arrived at The Foundry at 7:35, bought some merch, sent my dad off to the Dad Section, and secured a spot at barricade for myself. After Active Bird Community's set, before Maximo Park went on, I heard the people to my left discussing the setlist. I tried to get a photo, but it didn't work. We all just knew one thing: Graffiti wasn't on the setlist. We devised a plan to hear our beloved song. We tweeted (resisting the urge to say twote here) Maximo Park seven minutes before they went on. We tweeted everything from 'so excited to hear Graffiti tonight!' to 'Graffiti got me through some difficult teenage romances' (with a broken heart emoji) to 'Graffiti was my grandma's favorite song. She died last year.' Unfortunately, none of those were retweeted (retwote?) by the band before their set, so we thought our beloved Graffiti could only be accessed via YouTube videos from older gigs. Well, fortunately for my newfound squad of Maximo Park fans, that wasn't the case. During one of Paul Smith's frequent 'talky bits,' my new pal Helen quietly raised her hand. "Do you have a request?" Paul asked, not even into the mic. "Can you play Graffiti?" "You'll have to sing to me in French. That's the only answer to that." But after a quick look at his band mates, Paul proudly exclaimed: "Screw it. We'll do it! As they say in the United States, screw it! Screw it!" And then, they launched into Graffiti. All I remember is screaming "WE DID IT!!!!!" To Helen and John before becoming completely entranced by Paul's dance moves. So entranced I literally gifted him my nasty, sweaty, Pura Vida bracelet that I wore while laying in the grass in my backyard on July 11th, 2016. And then people started giving him shoes, to which someone behind me said: "welcome to Philly!" A few songs later, Paul told us he'd experienced Philadelphia in a half hour: everything from Philly cheesesteaks to sitting in a bar watching the Sixers win a game. That made me feel really proud of what I'd consider my home city. After the show, I actually got to meet Maximo Park and told Paul I had a chemistry exam first thing the next morning. "Whoa, what a weeknight for you then! Get home, study, cram those facts in your brain!" I laughed and thanked him and left the Foundry absolutely buzzing. To (most likely indirectly) quote my new friend John, "these guys played Glastonbury a few years back. It's crazy that they'd really have a gig this small. American fans definitely have an advantage for bands like this." (The photo below makes me feel SO SHORT. I'm 5'5, by the way.) So, yeah. In conclusion, I'd just like to thank Maximo Park for the amazing night that was November 29th, 2017. And as I sit in my kitchen with the remnants of a migraine and legs that are still sore from jumping around on Wednesday night, I could never be more thankful for all they've done for me.
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Before this article begins, I'd like to warn you: The ranking of these artists on this list DOES NOT define their music or career. It's simply how I thought of them as opening acts. I genuinely enjoy all of these artists, and this list is pretty much just one big shoutout anyway. So let's go. (By the way, although I did go to Panic/Weezer 2016, I didn't get to see Andrew McMahon because my dad was BUYING FREAKING FELAFEL AND WOULDN'T LET ME GO BACK TO SEE HIM. No hard feelings to my dad, though. But I heard from Alli that he was awesome.) 6. WeathersWeathers are extremely talented and charismatic, but my problem with them as an opening act is essentially just that they have TWO SONGS OUT. And I saw them with Saint Motel in October of 2016 and have been following them ever since. But still. Two. Songs. At this point, I don't even remember any of the other songs they played, which definitely isn't a good trait for an opening band. 5. Hippo CampusI saw Hippo Campus, along with Weathers, opening for Saint Motel in 2016. Yes, Alli and I saw them again in March of 2017 as a main act, but I'll get to that soon. I think they're much better as a main act, just because you won't get the whole Hippo Campus experience from a half-hour set! That's just my opinion, though, as everything on this blog is. 4. Active Bird CommunityActive Bird Community, I wish I could rank you higher on this list. I have nothing negative to say about you. Really. I'm not even sure why I put you guys at number 4. It might because you advertised a merch bundle, and then LEFT THE MERCH TABLE. AND TOOK ALL YOUR STUFF TOO. Are you guys still offering that bundle? Anyway, musically, Active Bird Community were awesome. They have a grunge vibe which is something that I've been missing for a while. These guys are awesome and I seriously suggest giving them a listen. If you are one of those people who think rock is dead, you obviously haven't listened to Active Bird Community. 3. The IntelligenceThe Intelligence were the first real opening band I ever got to see, which is probably half of why I love them so much. They also followed me back on Instagram, which obviously gets them extra points. AND we met them after the concert and my dad wants to be friends with them now. Also, their music is fun and quirky and you can jam out to it without thinking about it too much. That's the best thing music can make one feel. 2. BaioI know it's unfair to rank Baio this high, as he is a member of Vampire Weekend, arguably the third-biggest indie band of the 2000s (right next to the Strokes and Arctic Monkeys), but he was seriously THAT GOOD. And I met him after the Shins' set. So there's that. Like the Intelligence, Baio was fun, quirky, and mindless jam-able. And he was incredibly kind and humble when I met him. So yeah. As I said at 4:45 AM on November 5th, 2016, Chris Baio is a certified mans. 1. Magic City HippiesI went into the Hippo Campus gig not knowing or caring who the opening act was. But that all changed when Robby Hunter, Pat Howard, and John Coughlin walked out onstage and unleashed a rush of funk and Miami vibes that would stick with me forever. To this day, Magic City Hippies are one of my favorite bands. Magic City Hippies inspire me to have a life I would have never wanted otherwise, which is one in which I live in Florida. Magic City Hippies got me to appreciate Florida just a little bit more. This band literally changed how I see music. I appreciate funk, hip hop, and soul more than I ever would have without them. That's it. That's the article.As you know, w love talking to our readers here at Twilight Collective. So if you agree, disagree, or want to tell your own story about an opening band that you love, please comment! It takes, like, ten seconds, and we'd sincerely appreciate it.
By the way, check out our submission post on our Instagram, @twilightcollective. We think you'll like it. See you guys soon, when I hopefully will have written about Chris Baio and the Shins, finally. Or maybe I'll talk about Maximo Park when I can feel my left leg again. |
About The AuthorLiah is a high school senior who plays guitar and loves the color yellow. She doesn't post much, but when she does, it's awesome. We promise.
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