Mae

Washington, DC

The Black Cat

3/18/08

For those of you who don’t know, Mae is kind of awesome. And by “kind of,” I mean “really.” I had the pleasure of seeing them perform last night for (I think) the sixth time, and they have yet to disappoint me. They played at the popular Washington, DC club The Black Cat to a surprisingly large crowd for a Tuesday night show.

Between the Trees and The Honorary Title opened this show, and I honestly wouldn’t be able to tell you what they looked like or sounded like if  I hadn’t taken pictures or wrote notes on their sets. They were a little generic and very forgettable… which means they will probably end up on TRL or some other tween-friendly music show sometime soon. Their music had been done before, Between the Trees was a cross between Fall out Boy and All-American Rejects, and I couldn’t help but giggle when I saw the big black “X’s” on almost every band member’s hands (a sign that they’re under the legal drinking age, or they were trying to be straightedge and cool). The Honorary Title was a cross between Our Lady Peace and Augustana, but not nearly as talented as either band. And the singer, making crude jokes about boogers and the condition of his butt, didn’t help to improve my opinion on them.

But enough about mediocre opening acts, I was there to see Mae.

For those of you who again aren’t aware, Mae lost a few members of their band a few months back. Rob, their former keys player, brought a ton of energy to the stage and I was anxious to see how the rest of the guys would perform without him.

Mae opened with a lengthy instrumental bit and then moved right into one of their earliest hits “Embers and Envelopes.” The first few songs in their set were lacking energy and Dave Elkins, the band’s frontman, told the crowd that all of the lighting really had him a little confused (and it left us with a little headache). But after their fourth song, “Brink of Disaster,” the new single of their latest release Singularity, they really started to get into their set, and the crowd joined in with dancing and singing along.

Speaking of Singularity, a CD that I truly enjoyed from start to finish, I was a little taken back when the guys only played four songs from their newest album. Granted, I’m not going to bash the guys for playing a lot of older stuff, which I also love, but I was craving some “Crazy 8’s.”

All in all, Mae fans certainly got their money’s worth from this show. Mae played for about an hour and a half, with plenty of musical interludes mixed in. Their tour just began, so I’d certainly recommend checking them out at some point on this tour. And if you haven’t already, pick up their new CD.

The Goods: seeing them perform “The Everglow” for the first time

The Gripes: no “Crazy 8’s,” and it took the crowd way too long to get into the band

Setlist:

Embers and Envelopes

All Deliberate Speed

This is the Countdown

Brink of Disaster

Suspension

This Time is the Last Time

Skyline Drive

Just Let Go

Rocket

Soundtrack for our Movie

Summertime

The Everglow

----encore----

We’re So Far Away

Someone Else’s Arms