ADAM Levine cranked things up midway. JASPER LUCENA/MMI
Before the lights went on, Adam Levine, whose high-pitched singing has become the trademark of his group Maroon 5, had his back turned to the crowd. He was bouncing in place, like a sprinter about to get down on his starting blocks. Feral noises and tribal beats, all the while, played in the background.
To hysteric screaming, the first note was sung—“Animals” from the pop-rock band’s latest record, “V.” And then he was off, racing through his set and never looking back.
Sporting a simple red t-shirt and a pair of jeans, Levine, as casual as they come, strolled from side to side on the austere stage, needing no more than a rallying gesture to bring the house down. Levine was workmanlike, almost on autopilot; he didn’t talk a whole lot, save for the occasional exhortations and stock spiels.
Deafening cheers
“The best fans are definitely here!” declared the charismatic frontman to deafening cheers.
But with a nearly bulletproof repertoire, the lack of audience interaction wasn’t so much of an issue. Now with five albums under their belt, these American musicians came armed with even more hits than the last time they were in Manila three years ago. And Levine left the packed crowd at SM Mall of Asia Arena with virtually no room to breathe.
Many songs were delivered in succession and with nifty transitions, creating an effect that everything was part of one big medley. “One More Night” dissolved into a cover of “Stereo Hearts” into “Harder to Breathe” into “Lucky Strike,” and then into “Wake Up Call,” which had the singer indefatigably shifting from chest voice to head tone.
THE BAND came armed with even more hits this time. Jasper Lucena/MMI
The concert, mounted by MMI Live, was at its strongest from midway onward. There were the old smash hit “This Love,” the jazzy “Sunday Morning,” the funky, danceable “Makes Me Wonder,” the catchy, mid-tempo ditty “Payphone” and the mellow, light-a-phone tune “Daylight.”
It was in this stretch that Levine was most compelling. He started to crank things up, putting more grit into his numbers and initiating resounding sing-alongs. The music was likewise more robust—the bass seemed to thump more forcefully, the percussion crashed harder, the song outros more frenetic and stretched out.
For the encore, Levine picked up where he left of, sustaining the momentum he had built earlier. Levine gave an earnest rendition of “Lost Stars,” from the movie “Begin Again,” and an acoustic version of “She Will Be Loved,” before ending the gig with the upbeat and disco-inspired “Moves Like Jagger” and “Sugar,” which he finished off, quite fittingly, with a piercing falsetto.