In rock ‘n’ roll, there are times when self-imposed constraints can be very beneficial. As every big band knows, there is nothing like the adrenaline that is created by shifting from arenas down to playing a club date, even if it can only ever be for a once-off, special occasion. Maximo Park were doing just that for their Temple Bar Music Centre outing. The beneficial effect was two fold: on the one hand demand for tickets far exceeded supply, giving those fans who were lucky enough to get their hands on those precious pieces of paper a real sense that they were in on something unique; and on the other, the band could whip up the kind of concentrated sonic storm that would be very hard to replicate in a larger auditorium.
It’s had its share of brilliant gigs over the years, but the Temple Bar Music Centre is not generally used to entrances of this grandeur. From the moment they hit the stage, Maximo Park looked the part, their innate confidence magnified in the small space.
Context aside, Maxïmo Park are good. Their chief selling-point is frontman Paul Smith and you can immediately see why. In an age when too many rock musicians have to affect a bit of individuality, he is genuinely eccentric performer, effortlessly unusual in his approach.
He possesses a broad-shouldered build that might look more comfortable in a nu-metal band. As if to atone for his lack of indie weediness, however, he wears a Clockwork Orange-style bowler hat, and indulges in humorous, geeky between-song banter throughout the evening. He also sports a t-shirt with the likeably naïve slogan “Education Not Missiles”.
It would be gilding the lily to say that Maxïmo have put together a stellar catalogue (they are just two albums in, after all), but there is a powerful density to their music that is hugely impressive. Familiar tracks like ‘Graffiti’ and ‘Apply Some Pressure’ snap and fizz superbly, with needling guitar melodies that linger in the imagination, and while the jury is still out on some of the material from the group’s second record, live they keep their feet on the pedal in a way that brooks no arguments.
A blistering set, it was a reminder that it is often better by far to think small.

Photography by Naomi McArdle