The Maine

The Maine are a band I have loved for a long time now, and seeing them live was the cherry on top of the melodical masterpiece that is their music. With the building anticipation from the support acts Nick Santino and Lydia, they arrived with a storm of cheers and soon began playing. Throughout the night, I could have died with happiness as they played my favourite songs. Both the artist and venue I would definitely go to see again. 10/10 without a second thought

The Nick Santino concert that I attended in Lakewood was a very well put together show with quite a few surprises. The venue I thought was small but there wasn't many people who attended which made it for a more "intimate" performance. The opening group was a band called Pipe Dream, which was a local band who are very talented group with huge potential, if they can get more exposure. if you get a chance to pick up their cd, do it,it's worth it. They were followed by William Beckett,another very talented musician, Austin Gibbs, who involved the fans in attendance with humor and was very entertaining, This Century, also Brennan from the band "Technicolors" who played great guitar with everyone he played with, a great accomplishment, which was a great treat. One of the highlights of this show for me was when the different performers could get on stage and perform together, which happened 3 times during the whole show. That shows me the talent of all the musicians that performed. When it was time for Nick to perform, the whole crowd responded with overwhelming kindness and anticipation. This young man has been able to bring his life experiences in his music and let you know that he has gone through what we as individuals experience ourselves. I at the time didn't realize that he could play piano as well as the guitar, which he performed with, and very well at that. Another surprise was a new song that will be coming out with in the next month or so, I personally can't wait. The way he relays lifes' times and troubles is something that everyone of us can relate to at some point in our lives is remarkable.

I originally saw The Academy Is... play a show back in 2005 and was surprised. I had expected William Beckett's voice to be whiney, but it wasn't, which made me feel relieved since I'd gone to the show expecting to feel irritated by the end!

I've always been a bit of a cynic when it comes to emo-pop-rock bands (I'm not sure that I would call them emo, but that's what I heard others at the show say). I don't know why, because I like listening to albums from bands like that but always feel like I'm going to hate them live.

When the show started, I noted that they looked like your typical emo kids, or, at least, they looked like the stereotype of an emo kid. The majority of the crowd had much the same style as the band: skinny jeans, chucks, tight band tee. Most of them were teenagers.

The music was a bit slower and softer than the other artists I associate with them (Cute Is What We Aim For and Fall Out Boy, for example). The lyrics were very straightforward, which was a bit refreshing.

I enjoyed the show, though I wouldn't say it was life-changing or very memorable. “Black Mamba” and “Checkmarks” were the high points of the show.

Awesome as always! Hometown boys from Richmond had a great show! I always look forward to driving down and singing along to their tunes. They always greet their peeps, take pictures with fans, and engage with everyone.