Going to concerts is always a lot of fun, but somehow
whenever Maddie & Tae are involved it’s always a bit more fun. I started
the night by heading backstage to say hi to the girls and update my photo with
them (last time was C2C 2015!) and can confirm that both girls are absolute
sweethearts, both on and off stage. You can’t help but like them.
I rushed back inside to catch the end of opening act Frankie
Davies’ set – she’d been recommended to me on Twitter a number of times so I
was very excited to finally see her live. She certainly has a lot of charisma,
laughing along with the crowd and encouraging us to help sing on final track Shivers. From what I saw, she has a
beautiful pure voice, and I look forward to seeing more of her soon. Great
choice for an opener!
Maddie & Tae’s set began with Brothers Osborne It Ain’t My Fault blaring through the
speakers which had us all singing along within seconds – we were definitely in
the mood to have a good time. The girls appeared on stage and began with Your Side of Town, having a great deal
of fun and both rocking out on guitar. It’s clear these two are young
superstars.
The chemistry between the duo is undeniable, and as they
sang Right Here, Right Now, they
would look and smile at one another making it clear how fun it must be being on
stage every night with your best friend. M&T prove themselves as queens of
satirical songs as we moved onto Sierra with
lyrics like “A heart of pure gold is something very rare / And the only
one she has is on that necklace that she wears” and “I hope that I'm around
when you get knocked up or knocked down.”
Both girls had the chance to show off their unique talents,
Tae on guitar and Maddie’s stunning vocals which shone through on Waiting on a Plane. However, I’m sure
the crowd would have happily sang the whole show themselves as was made clear
when Maddie pointed her mic into the audience during No Place Like You and the crowd heartily took over.
I was impressed to see fans even knew the words to some of
the duo’s unreleased tracks from their upcoming album such as We’re Gonna Get There. As the girls
don’t tour the UK as often as they do the US, they offered us sneak peeks of
new songs which suggest there’s a lot to look forward to on M&T2. I
particularly enjoyed the sultry Why You
Looking At Me Like That which I can’t wait to hear on the new record.
More new songs came in the form of Welcome to the Club, an upbeat song which somehow makes heartbreak
and all the pain that comes with it sound fun, and Growing which details the ups and downs they’ve experienced over
the past year – brilliant storytelling and a key component of great country
music.
Perhaps my favourite moment of the night was when the girls
covered Niall Horan’s Slow Hands
which was utterly fantastic and dare I say even better than the original. I’ve
spent all morning trying to find a YouTube link to prove it to you but with no
luck – hopefully we’ll hear it again soon!
Whilst that was my favourite song of the night, the duo also
got to play theirs, with Maddie choosing Downside
of Growing Up which generated a huge cheer from the audience, whose age
ranged from mid-teens to elderly couples – now that’s how you know your music
speaks to a wide range of people. Tae’s choice came from the new album, a
lilting ballad called Walk In Her Heels discussing
how hard it is to see the person you like with someone new. I told you you have
a lot to look forward to on the upcoming album!
Maddie & Tae showed off their rocky side on Smoke, jamming along with their
brilliant band and making sure everyone was singing as loud as they were. I kid
you not, when they began to play one of their top-selling songs Fly the crowd was singing louder than
the girls were – it was magical. I loved the easy transition into Coldplay’s Fix You which meant that even if you
weren’t a fan of Maddie & Tae (which I’m sure was not applicable to anyone
in the audience) you could still sing along at the top of your lungs. No one
was not having a good time.
The main set ended with more fun songs including new songs Blame It On The Tree with great lyrics
like “My roots run way too deep to be pulling them up / They're
stuck where they oughta be / You can't just bury what's hereditary / So don't
blame it on the apple, blame it on the tree”, Just Fine, and of course the original sassy Girl In A Country Song. Each of these highlighted to me just how
great songwriters the duo are, especially given their young ages. I find it
hard enough to write a coherent review, let alone catchy, meaningful and fun
lyrics!
As they left the stage, the room was
filled with love for what had been a brilliant show, but we weren’t ready to go
yet. Maddie came back on stage and asked the crowd “Do y’all have time for two
more songs?” (like we were going to say no!) and we finished up with sweet
ballad Somebody Will and the
thoroughly enjoyable and well-written (when they were only 16 years old, would
you believe it!) Shut Up and Fish. I
left with a smile from ear to ear.
The last word I wrote in my review notes was ‘FUN’ and that
sums up everything Maddie & Tae’s concert was for me – the girls, their
songs and their performance were all so much fun, and it was easily one of the
most enjoyable nights I’ve had at a gig so far. Don’t miss them next time
they’re here!
What’s the most enjoyable
concert you’ve been to? Let me know on Twitter @CiarasCountry or in the
comments! I love to hear anything and everything music related so be sure to
let me know who your favourite artists are, what your favourite albums are, and
what you’re listening to right now. More reviews and interviews coming soon!
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