Maximum Maximo

"We are Maximo Park" opines Paul Smith, pronouncing it "maxeemo".

He was svelt and fit in a skin tight white 'suit' with his hat at a jaunty angle. And then the music started pounding out of the speakers. Up in the balcony at Brixton Academy we got a good view of me Geordie lads as they played their relentlessly punky, energetic songs, short and sweet, loud and brash with their sometimes quite thoughtful lyrics.

The band were excellent, very tight and well practiced while Paul jumped all over the place, stalking around the stage whipping the audience into a lather. They played some of the new songs from the new album (but no mention of when it'll be released) which sounded good, definitely having the Maximo sound.

Most notable songs for me were, 'The Coast Is Always Changing', 'Graffiti', 'Limassol' and 'Postcard of a Painting', finishing with 'Apply Some Pressure' when the crowd went wild. I sang along with a silly smile all over my face. They didn't play 'A19', which is one of my favourites, but I forgive them. After tonight I can forgive them anything. I sort of felt proud of them for some reason.

I'm so pleased to finally see me lads live and I came so close to not getting tickets because I thought I'd be too old. Hah! Yes, there were young teens there, but most of the audience seemed to be in the 20s-30s range and even some blokes looking older than me. Anyway, who really cares? They seemed really nice lads as well, thanking the audience for supporting them and applauding the audience a few times. That was a nice touch, especially since we should be thanking them for bringing such joy to Brixton. Why aren't they bigger?

Paul closed with the immortal phrase, 'We are Maximo Park'. O yes we are.