Pioneer World Tour: The Maine Live in Manila Concert Review
By: Carla Barretto

They trended ten times on Twitter after the announcement was made. Their song “Don’t give up on ‘Us'” made it to number one on the local radio charts. In their first-ever production, Karpos Multimedia Inc. teamed up with Pulp Live Productions to bring in John, Garrett, Kennedy, Pat, and Jared to the Philippines for the first stop of their Pioneer tour.

As the band was having their press conference over at Discovery Suites, die-hard Maine-iacs were already lining the halls leading to SM North Sky Dome, determined to get prime spots in the venue.

“It’s just amazing,” said drummer Pat Kirch in response to Philippine Concerts’ question on how it feels to be back in Manila. Frontman John O’Callaghan acknowledged that it was the Philippine fans that brought them back, especially after such a warm welcome at their show last year.

At the stroke of 7pm, the excited fans filed into the venue and were already singing and screaming long before the show began.

Local band the Itchyworms got a warm welcome from the crowd as they performed a few of their most-loved songs to start off the show. As a sweet goodbye gesture, the lead singer Jugs Jugueta requested that all the members of the audience give each other a hug. The crowd burst into giggles but obliged nonetheless.When the time came for The Maine to take the stage, the jam-packed SM Sky Dome was ringing with the band’s pre-show chant, “We like to party, we like, we like to party!” At last, John, Garrett, Kennedy, Pat and Jared came on stage and began their set with the song “Identify”

The 19-song set was packed with energy and emotion, the dedicated audience singing every word. The band also took the time to chat and be silly with the fans. Lead singer John found himself wearing bunny ears, bassist Garrett with a Darth Vader mask and a bra, and all 5 of the boys sneaking peeks at a floating condom balloon from a daring fan.

The band also showed sincere concern for the fans, constantly checking up on them and even handing out cups of water to the crowd who was shoulder-to-shoulder in the Platinum and Gold areas.  Some of the fans were reportedly in danger of fainting from exhaustion and lack of breathing space. The loyal Maine-iacs, however, could not be deterred by the heat and kept the party going.

The venue echoed with the voices and jumps of the one thousand five hundred in attendance as the band played their finale song, “Don’t Give Up On ‘Us'”. “We’ll be back real soon, alright?” promised John O’Callaghan, adding that perhaps it will not be another year of waiting before they return.

Overall, the concert was literally and figuratively and breathtaking experience. The performance did not disappoint and the production team kept technical issues at bay from beginning to end. Needless to say, fans went home exhilarated and already hailing The Maine live in Manila as one of the best concerts of the year.

Pioneer World Tour: The Maine Live in Manila was presented by  Pulp Live Productions & Karpos Multimedia Inc

Don’t miss their next event The Cranberries live in Manila on April 10, 2012

The Maine’s third album Pioneer is exclusively available at ASTROPLUS