Maximo Park & The Blood ArmThe Zodiac Saturday 30th April 2005
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Perhaps there's something of the fabled May Day mysticism in the air, because there's a buzz in the audience tonight, and it's very much the buzz of youth. Self-conscious huddles of mums and dads hover near the back of the venue as their pubescent offspring, who make up the bulk of the crowd tonight, pogo to their heart's content in the sweaty pit down the front. Not that there's anything particularly unusual about that - alternative music being the privilege of the young and the wannabe young - but tonight's bands are hardly the epitome of rock & roll idols that normally attract this kind of adoration. Maximo Park, headlining, embrace geek chic in their clothes and manner, and frontman Paul Smith, with his greasy locks and goggle-eyed, frenetic stage movements, is no Chris Martin. But refreshingly, this band is about substance over style, and maybe it's this dedication to producing good music rather than looking hot on the cover of the NME that gives them the genuine charisma that no amount of rock poise could bring. |