Maroon 5

Perplexed Oasis fans stood quietly while Maroon 5’s frontman showed the Staffordshire V Festival crowd what it is to be in a really commercial band. Glittery, polished and fashionable Maroon 5 don’t look like they should be at a festival – but here they are.

Adam Levine looks as if he’s taken lessons from The Will Young School of Performing Arts. Posing with the mic and swaggering around stage with the type of defiant, egotistical grace that makes you wonder if throwing things at acts can actually be justified. It's funny when Howlin’ Pelle Almqvist of the Hives does it, it’s just about acceptable when Liam Gallagher does it – but when Adam Levine does it he looks a pillock.

Things aren’t much better when Levine has a guitar either, it just doesn’t look right, especially when the bass guitarist and lead guitarist are sporting similar haircuts and wearing virtually identical clothes. But who cares what a band looks like? This is a festival all about the music and Maroon 5 are a magnificent experimental rock band who are reaching new levels of excellence never seen in the industry before. Of course I’m talking complete bollocks – the only thing worse than Maroon 5’s fashion sense is there music.

Chances are you will have heard the insipid ‘She Will be loved’, where Levine wails like a sick dog, unfortunately there’s no vet at hand to do the humane thing. Maroon 5 aren’t all tiresome ballads and it would be unfair to group them into that monotonous group of melodramatic American soft rock groups. ‘Harder to breathe’ is an altogether more upbeat affair and the set list does include a fair few guitar solos, pitch bends and the odd drum solo. The problem is it’s just far too predictable and has zero originality. Maroon 5 do for music what Tony Blair does for politics.

‘Through with you’ is the type of song that’s easily forgettable and new song "I can’t stop thinking about you" is equally bland. Most of Maroon 5’s set comes from last years 3rd best selling album in the UK – Songs about Jane, which is a collection of songs about Levine’s ex-girlfriend Sally.

Maroon 5’s saving grace was that they left the stage 20 minutes early. But they were made to look comparatively first rate as soon as Mike Skinner of the Streets walked on stage.

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