By Veeda Ware
Rocking the McKay Event Center on Tuesday night, Mar. 9, a talented Maroon 5 captivated an audience of more than 5,000 with their funky, soulful sounds.
After an energetic opening performance by the Matt Lewis Band, Maroon 5 sauntered on stage with Tupak Shakur”s rap hit “California” thumping in the background.
Caught up in the music and his own crazy excitement, vocalist Adam Levine forgot to introduce himself and the band: keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bassist Mickey Madden, guitarist James Valentine and drummer Ryan Dusick.
A true front-man, Levine quickly captured the crowd with his vulnerable vocals and honest, raw emotion.
Opening their set with “Not Coming Home,” Maroon 5 mixed funky, pulsating guitar chords with staccato beats and lyrics.
“I”m gonna let you in on a little secret,” Levine confessed. “This is our largest performance ever.”
The fans at Tuesday”s concert could taste the band”s boyish excitement of success as Maroon 5 ripped through hits off their record with passion and energy. A jazzed up “Sunday Morning,” brought in funky keyboard solos and hip rhythms. Their hits “Harder to Breathe,” and “This Love,” brought enthusiasm and energy to the crowd singing along.
In between songs, an animated Levine took time to ramble about his cheerful feelings of accomplishment with the attention-hungry crowd.
“We went on our first television appearance — The Carson Daily Show — and I was nervous. I was crazy, that was the best day of my life,” Levine said. “But then another best day of my life, we did Saturday Night Live. I keep having all these best days of my life, and today is the best day of my life!”
Levined dedicated the jazzed-up version of “She Will Be Loved” to all the ladies in the house, saying 99 percent of his musical influence comes from his relationships and woes over women.
Covers of Bill Wither”s bluesy “Ain”t No Sunshine,” and Pharell”s R&B hit “Frontin”,” showed Maroon 5”s ability to merge music genres into their own distinct sound. Closing with “Sweetest Goodbye,” the influence of Lauryn Hill”s “Tell Him” could be heard along with the collaboration of hard rock guitar.
The eclectic mixture of R&B, rock and funk at Tuesday”s performance deserves praise and recognition for Maroon 5”s promising soulful vibes.
