Mae: Concert Review
One of the first things I did when I found out I would be a Summer intern at HM was to find out which of my favorite bands would be stopping through Austin this summer. Near the top of my list was Mae. I've been hooked ever since I bought Destination: Beautiful last year, and The Everglow -- which includes a piano intro and a voiceover talking about the album as if it were a children's book on tape, complete with "turn the page when you hear this sound" -- cemented them as one of my absolute favorites. It's very rare to listen to a band in the emo/indie genre anymore and be able to say "I've never heard anything quite like this before." But I don't know of anyone who achieves Mae's combination of amtospheric, layered guitars, airy high end vocals, and beautifully incorparated piano, sysnthesized beats, and electronic keyboard elements. It's the perfect music to fall asleep to, but you could just as easily bob your head to it in the car on a summer drive.
All that to say, I was quite excited to see Mae live. Opening acts Days Away, JamisonParker, and The Academy Is all represented themselves well, and each provided a nice appetizer to Mae with similarly melodic sounds. Mae took the stage to the piano intro to their new album, then launched into "Someone Else's Arms" full force. Frontman Dave Elkins maintained great energy throughout, rocking his his whole body and guitar swinging whenever his voice wasn't required at the mic. The stage was too small to allow for much movement, but Elkins and lead guitarist Zach Gehring used what spage they had effectively. The only possible complaint was that some of the subtle elements and lush layers Mae has perfected in their music were less aparent in a live setting. This may have been due in part to the sound mixing, and the melodic guitar and piano parts were still very much present, simply to a lesser extent than on the album. Also, Elkins occasionally went an octave lower on some of the higher notes, rather than stretch for them at the octave he is able to achieve wonderfully in studio. If and when he is able to confidently hit those notes live, this band's show will be unbelievable. Still, Mae's performance was energetic and solid, and with just two studio albums under their belt, it's scary to think how good they might become with some seasoning. In the meantime, the learning process alone is quite a treat.
Photos and review by Tim Hallila
©2005 Tim Hallila & HM Magazine - All Rights Reserved
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