Maroon 5 Blog

Live in Dubai - December 10th

A short and sweet experience
by Rachel McArthur

"Is that it?" my friends said, sounding quite shocked that Maroon 5's show was already over. "Did they even do all their hits?"

But enough of that for the moment.

Flashback 60 minutes when Adam Levine, James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Michael Madden and Matt Flynn were about to hit the stage, and the atmosphere was electrifying. Despite being on a school night, fans turned out in their thousands at Dubai Festival City to catch the American band's first live performance in the Middle East – and where else would it be but the UAE?

Several minutes later and the boys made it onto centre stage-kicking off with fans' favourite, and the track that ultimately made the band the worldwide phenomenon it is today, This Love, followed by another hit If I Never See Your Face Again, sans Rihanna this time around.

When not busy posing for the cameras or interacting with fans, Levine shone with his spectacular voice, and the band included all the favourites in their setlist, including Sunday Morning, I Won't Go Home Without You, The Sun, Shiver, Makes Me Wonder and Wake Up Call and She Will Be Loved.

For the encore, Levine and co gave an energetic performance of the band's very first single, Harder to Breathe, before bursting into Sweetest Goodbye; quite fitting for the last song of the night.

But before disappearing back to their Sheikh Zayed Road hotel, the band gave it their all one last time with a fabulous guitar and drum solo combo with lead guitarist Valentine and drummer Flynn, as well as Levine (who's also a guitarist) dominating the final two minutes.

Returning to the beginning of this review: Yes, it was short, but let me tell you, Maroon 5 live in Dubai was one sweet experience. Would I go see them again? I think you know the answer.

Source: Emirates Business
Photos: masala.com

Live in Bogota, Colombia - November 20th

Review sent in by lalishu
So, I've been to a lot of concerts...both here in Colombia and in the US, and I must say, this was definitely one of the best concerts ever, it was pretty simple. and By simple I mean...like there was not a huge lighting job involved and nothing extravagant. And oh sadly I didn't do a very good stalking job because I'm in final weeks in college, so. yeah. tough. But, if you want so see pictures and videos and stuff, here's the Street Team site (http://maroon5colombia.wordpress.com/).

 

They went onstage at like 8h35 pm and the concert ended at about 10h15, I think. Adam spoke some spanish, which was adorable and he did it pretty good, I must admit. He also said that they show in Bogotá was his favorite of South America so far....but then I guess he says that a lot !!!

And well, the place was packed !!! The guys did an amazing job and they had two colombian flags onstage, so everyone pretty much loved that.!!
I don't know what else to say...I'm sure this description does not cover completely how amazing it truly was. I wish they come back here... and they must, because now they know how much fans they have here. Awesome.

Photos: elespectador.com, terra.com.co

Setlist
This Love
If I Never See Your Face Again
Makes Me Wonder
Tangled
The Sun
Won’t Go Home Without You
Secret
Kiwi
Shiver
Wake Up Call
Sunday Morning
She Will Be Loved
Harder to Breathe
Sweetest Goodbye

Photos of Adam & Mickey at the airport

Photos: EntretenimientoPlus.com

Live in Santiago, Chile - November 12th

Maroon 5's Debut in Chile

With Movistar Arena half full, Maroon 5 played for the first time in Chile.

The audience, who were mostly women, began to arrive an hour before the start. At 9.30pm the group made up of  Adam Levine, Jesse Carmichael, Mickey Madden, Matt Flynn and James Valentine opened the show with "This Love" the single from their debut album "Songs About Jane" and unleashed excitement in the audience. After that came more than a dozen songs, among them were highlights from their second album "It Won't Be Soon Before Long".

Levine won over the audience by greeting the crowd in Spanish. He didn't pass up the opportunity to pick up the Chilean flag that was thrown on stage as well as a funny hat that he handed over to guitarist James Valentine, much to the delight of the women in the front row.

Shortly before 11pm the Americans closed the show with "Sweetest Goodbye".

Source: terra.cl

Photos: F de Falso

Setlist

This Love
If I Never See Your Face Again
Makes Me Wonder
Tangled
The Sun
Won’t Go Home Without You
Secret
Shiver
Wake Up Call
Sunday Morning
Wicked Game
She Will Be Loved

Encore:
Harder to Breathe
Sweetest Goodbye

Live in Buenos Aires, Argentina - November 11th

Photo sent in by Arwen

Maroon 5 Cause Fan Frenzy at Luna Park
(article loosely translated from Spanish)

Soon after 9.30pm, with the voice of Pavarotti in the background and an impressive ovation from the crowd, the group, led by Adam Levine, came out on stage to perform tracks from "Songs About Jane" and "It Won't Be Soon Before Long".

From that moment on, everything was about the music and the stadium was flooded with raw sound from the voices and instruments of the five members of the band who enjoyed playing their first show in Argentina.

Levine greeted the crowd in English: "How do you feel tonight? It's our first time in Argentina, it's nice to be here. We hope you enjoy the show." The people in the crowd, especially the female members of the audience, were also rewarded with a large smile from the singer, who carried back to Los Angeles the unconditional love of the Argentine people.

Without resorting to the typical moves of aging rockers, Adam Levine was well-received as a sex symbol with his jumps and contoured hip shaking, which gave an indication of why he was once the boyfriend of a top model.

He tried to speak Spanish to the crowd, expressing a "thank you very much" before starting a slow version of "Won't Go Home Without You". When the beat kicked in, he told the crowd to stand up. To his surprise, everyone there sang through the whole song, to the point where, in one of the unforgettable moments of the night, Adam held his microphone out to the crowd after asking the audience to sing with him, also in Spanish.

Luna Park was filled with true fans of Maroon 5 who knew all their song lyrics, even their oldest songs. The musicians shared their joy with the audience, with Adam telling the crowd that they would return to Buenos Aires, and that "next time I'll speak Spanish fluently".

The live versions of their songs had touches of jazz and even opera, making the concert a great musical experience that resulted in a warm (and sometimes hysterical) reception from the crowd. By the time they reached their super hit "Wake Up Call" it wasn't necessary for Adam to tell people to stand up, they were already singing and dancing along with their idols.

The attention from the crowd was rewarded with a "thank you" before launching into another hit "Sunday Morning" and then "She Will Be Loved", which started with Chris Isaak's classic "Wicked Game", played well with emotion.

While the concert lacked many of the songs from their last album, nobody was left disappointed by these impeccable musicians: James Valentine on guitar, Jesse Carmichael on keyboards, Mickey Madden on bass, the excellent Matt Flynn on drums and Levine himself heavily used on guitar.

They returned to the stage to perform their classic "Sweetest Goodbye", with Levine posing for digital cameras and cellphones, causing a stampede in the crowd, much to the despair of the security guards.

And them came their farewell, with the five members hugging at the edge of the stage, leaving the crowd wanting to continue dancing.

Source: Yahoo Entertainment

Setlist

This Love
If I Never See Your Face Again
Makes Me Wonder
Tangled
The Sun
Won't Go Home Without You
Secret
Shiver
Wake Up Call
Sunday Morning
Wicked Game
She Will Be Loved
Harder To Breathe
Sweetest Goodbye

Live in São Paulo, Brazil - November 9th

An hour and a half to summarize a ten year career
The band played at Via Funchal in São Paulo and began the show with "This Love"

The American quintet Maroon 5, who played Sunday night in São Paulo, has already had a ten year career. But, with a repertoire of recent hits, it wasn't difficult for Adam Levine, James Valentine, Jesse Carmichael, Michael Madden and Matt Flynn to please the teen audience who attended concert. From start to finish, there was screaming and more screaming.The commotion was widespread.

The group did the basics: they started with the super hit "This Love", set up a varied set list with songs from their three albums and ended with the galactic "Sunday Morning" followed by "She Will Be Loved."

Animated, the lead singer Adam Levine spoke a few words in Portuguese to the crowd. Cell phones in hand, the public never tired of filming and taking photos - apart from, of course, to sing the whole repertoire of the band.

The group played some different arrangements of pop basics from their studio albums, with much more force on guitar and the drums, and there were some new introductions - a cover, of " Wicked Game, came before "She Will Be Loved".

After just one hour, the Americans left the stage. Levine returned in a shirt with the Brazilian flag and played two more hits: "Harder to Breathe" and "Sweetest Goodbye."

Source: Globo.com Photos: Gloss

Sweetest Goodbye

Live in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil - November 7th

Maroon 5 Play HSBC Arena in Rio
(article loosely translated)

When Adam Levine (singer), James Valentine (guitar), Mickey Madden (bass), Jesse Carmichael (keyboards) and Matt Flynn (drums) came on stage it was already 22:30.

Adam thanked the crowd in Portuguese. It wasn't necessary because the crowd seemed to understand his English well. The singer added that Portuguese was a very difficult language. He also spoke about his envy of the Brazilian butt, and started laughing when he said that Americans don't have as much butt. He thanked the crowd a few more times and asked everyone to hold up their cellphones during Won't Go Home Without You.

A highlight was seeing the Brazilian flag hung on the band's keyboard during the show. Another striking moment was when Sunday Morning began. Everyone started to sing, which surprised Levine. He looked at Flynn on the drums, began laughing and continued singing from where he was.

The crowd didn't seem to recognize the song when the group played Trenchtown Rock by Bob Marley. A few started singing along to In the Air Tonight by Phil Collins, but everyone joined in when the band started playing Chris Isaak's Wicked Game before entering into She Will Be Loved, the last song of the show before the encore.

After leaving the stage at 1:10 a.m., they returned to close the show with Harder to Breathe and Sweetest Goodbye.

Source: JB Online

Adam talking about the finer points of Brazil

Live in Guadalajara, Mexico - November 3rd

Review: Maroon 5 Break Hearts at Telmex Auditorium

It was a night of screams.

The audience, composed mainly of young people, celebrated each chord, step, gesture and tune from Maroon 5, especially its lead singer, Adam Levine, who in a white T-shirt received sighs from the audience.

The band jumped on stage at 21:55 and opened with "This Love," one of the most famous songs in their repertoire.

"It's our first time in Mexico, are you ready?" With that phrase, Adam Levine brought the audience to its feet. The singer reminded the packed auditorium that this was the band's first tour in Mexico.

To the surprise of the quintet, the crowd showed a pretty good command of English, accompanying the band on various songs, not just in the chorus, but for the verses too.

Adam said a few words in Spanish, although he promised that he would work hard to improve.

The audience and the band clicked almost instantly. Requests to clap, jump and shout (though the latter was not needed) were met by the fans and even dads who had brought their teenagers to the concert could not avoid moving their hips to the rhythm.

They left the stage at 23:05. It was brief, intense and full of screams.

Source: El Informador

Live in Monterrey, Mexico - November 2nd

(Review loosely translated from Spanish)

For the band's first time in Monterrey they played for just 65 minutes.

10,800 people attended the concert last night at the Monterrey Arena and at the end of the night they were left wanting more.

There is no doubt that the singer Adam Levine has a fantastic voice, but he also has charisma and stage presence, to the extent that several young girls were carrying posters with phrases like "Adam, kiss me" or "Adam, I love you."

The members of the band walked on stage to the voice of Andrea Boccelli interpreting a piece from the opera "Vinceró," while the crowd started their deafening screams to welcome Maroon 5.

The audience was pleased to hear songs such as "If I Never See Your Face Again", "Makes Me Wonder," "Tangled," "The Sun", "Wont Go Home Without You" and "Kiwi".

The singer on many occasions tried to speak Spanish and said it was the first time they had been to Mexico.

“Hola señores, mi vocabulario es horrible, pero traté de aprender español para venir a este concierto”, said Adam. (Translation: "Hello, my vocabulary is horrible, but I tried to learn Spanish for this concert").

Another of the memorable moment of the evening was when they played another of their greatest hits, "She Will Be Loved". With this song, the musicians left the stage but not before thanking the audience for coming.

The band returned to deliver two more songs for the encore, "Harder to Breathe" and ending with "Sweetest Goodbye" at 23:08.

Source: El Porvenir

Live in West Palm Beach, FL - October 4th (Last Show of the Tour)

Fan review and photos sent in by Sally:

I attended the stellar Maroon 5 final tour show in West Palm Beach. It was a rainy day and concerned about the outdoor venue but the weather calmed down and it was not a problem for most sitting under cover. In these days of astronomical ticket prices, this show bar none was so worth it and beyond my expectations. It was so much show for the money with Augustana, Counting Crows opening and then a spectacular performance by Maroon 5.

The elevated stage for Counting Crows and it's magnificent back drop visual light show was a special treat. Phasing in themes reflecting the songs - Hollywood, palm trees, fields, and so on. It was equally impressive to see the crews dismantle the elaborate Counting Crows stage and expeditiously assemble the equally spectacular stage for Maroon 5. But it was clearly the band's performance that captured the audience. Adam Levine is sheer amazement to behold and is so engaging as a signer/guitar player - moving all over the stage and not favoring a particular side as some performers tend to do. So stage right or stage left, Adam performed to the audience no matter where you sat.

A special treat was the band's celebration of James Valentine's 30th birthday and the band presenting James with a new guitar.

As a guitar enthusiast, I really appreciated seeing both James and Adam playing smokin' dueling guitar that evening. Loved the show and cannot wait for them to tour again. The band is featured on the Official Fan Club site - http://www.officialfanclub.net/

Counting Crows/Maroon 5: Great show...but wait! There's more!
by Leslie Gray Streeter

Both sets were great, but while the Crows seemed to have time to breathe musically, maybe because it blended so well with Augustana's, the hit-full Maroon 5 portion seemed a little rush, particularly compared to previous shows where they were the sole headliner. Understand that any amount of Adam Levine's R&B-ish tenor and and steely-eyed, legs-akimbo sexy stance, even an abbreviated one, is a enjoyable thing. But the last act's length and musical differences with the Crows (and the lack of surprise appearances by Duritz or any Crows members during the Maroon 5 set) made it seem like two completely different shows.

Good shows. Just different ones.

Maroon 5's portion of the show also borrowed snippets from old songs - long-time Stevie Wonder fan Adam Levine did a stirring a capella chorus of "Love's In Need of Love Today," - but to more upbeat, electronic, flashy effect. Again, this is a good thing, but just different. Maybe it was because of the curfew, but the band didn't bother with the filler songs - it was hit after hit after hit, beginning with the sexy "This Love," and "If I Never See Your Face Again," with Levine filling in for duet partner Rihanna.

Levine's stage persona is cocky and confident, but he's got the effortless pipes to back it up - consider the heights he hit on the latter chorus of "Sunday Morning" and revenge fantasy "Wake-Up Call." It has been suggested that mentioning Levine's suggestively coy lyrics and stage manner belittles his talent. But come on - it's so out there (those jeans weren't accidentally tight, y'all) that not mentioning it ignoring the obvious. It's like eating a piece of creamy, chocolate cake and insisting on focusing on how it's a good source of riboflavin.

In the five or so years since I've been seeing Maroon 5 live, Levine's ease with audiences has grown impressively - last night, he explained, dead-panned, why those wacky roadies, celebrating the end of the tour, decorated his guitar with "I Heart The Jonas Brothers" and two billowing silk scarves - "Steven Tyler s---," he joked.

He also ended the show by tossing that guitar into the air, along with several wooden amps, proving that you can master Pete Townshend-style instrument hi-jinks, Stevie Wonder soul and proudly play a guitar that reads "I Heart The Jonas Brothers." And that takes some talent.

Source: Palm Beach Post

Some info and photos on the prank pulled on Adam from nickjonline.com:

"The guitar had a pin of the Jonas Brothers on it and they wrote on the guitar, 'I <3 The Jonas Bros B.F.F.' He used the guitar for one of the songs and then gave the guitar to a fan in the crowd."

Setlist
This Love
If I Never See Your Face Again
Tangled
The Sun
Love's In Need of Love Today > Won't Go Home Without You
Secret > Roxanne
Shiver
Wake up Call
"Happy Birthday James"
Sunday Morning
She Will Be Loved
Harder to Breathe
Sweetest Goodbye

Live in Birmingham, AL - September 30th

Barrage of pop-rock hits ends in Crows and friends
by Dana Jaffe

One pop-rock hit after another - that is how the much- anticipated Counting Crows, Maroon 5 and Augustana show at Verizon Wireless Music Center played out on Tuesday night.

With an introduction and a seal of approval from Counting Crows front man Adam Duritz, the opening act, California rock band Augustana, played a half-hour set, including the radio single "Boston," as ticketholders continued to filter into the venue. Members from Counting Crows and Maroon 5 joined them instrumentally on a couple of songs, but the stand-out part of this performance was the soothing vocals of Dan Layus.

Pop-rock band Maroon 5 took the stage next. Lead singer Adam Levine talked about memories of Birmingham, including a show at WorkPlay in 2001 and, before that, a show at the Nick. They got kicked out of the Nick after their show because they weren't of drinking age, Levine said.

But that was before the Grammy Awards and Billboard chart-topping singles. This time around, screams from girls crushing on the crooner followed every move of Levine, whose vocals were even stronger live and outshone all the crazy lighting that went along with their performance. Opening with "Harder to Breathe," and closing with "This Love," Maroon 5 didn't run out of hits to serve up during the entire hour-long set.

Source : AL.com