I wrote my feelings down in a rush, I didn't even check the spelling

So then: Maxïmo Park, take 2. Well, I was down the front, so it was an instant improvement on Glasto - which was brilliant, if frustrating because of the obscured view - and I loved every minute of it. :)

I had no idea they'd amassed such a large young following - the place was full of teens, it was like a Kaiser Chiefs gig! *g* It's weird, because if Paul Smith resembles anyone it's the 'friendly bacteria' guy from the Yakult ads, and yet the kids were loving him. I guess that's what appearing on TOTP and CD:UK does for you.

But I'm sure the tunes have something to do with it. Listen to the album and tell me that even one song on it couldn't be a single, it's a jerk-pop gem, and they come into their own live, with the pounding drums, infectious, taut guitar riffs, and Paul's maniacal stage presence, leaping around like an art-pop ballerina and eyeballing the crowd. Including me, heheh! It's clear he cultivates that oddball image of his, but the success they're now getting seems to have taken him by surprise - as confident and peacock-like as he was during the songs, you could detect a hint of shiness in the between-song banter, like he still can't believe that many people want to come and see them. It's endearing in a way. Give it another album, though, and there'll be swagger aplenty - I think we have another Jarvis in the making here.

Coming onstage to the pulsating keyboard intro to Limassol, the crowd were in their pocket from the off, and by the third song in, Now I'm All Over The Shop (which saw my introduction to the front rows ;) ), things were unbelievably hot and sweaty in there already. It wasn't long before they announced they'd just learnt they'd been nominated for this year's Mercury Prize (more about that later - what a shortlist! :) ), and that seemed to propel both audience and band through the rest of the gig, just giving it that little bit extra oomph.

Needless to say I sang my heart out, along with many others, and what great songs they are to sing - such inventive lyrics, such fun choruses. Naturally my greatest affections were reserved for Graffiti, which is surely an indie club classic already with its pumping intro and thrilling 'THAT'S ENOUGH!' first line from Paul. The pogoing on that one was immense, hands in the air all over the place, all pointed stagewards. We'll do graffiti if he sings to us in French - or even just English for that matter. :) Signal & Sign was another manic one, I love being in the thick of things at moments like that so much, it was such a release, everyone around me shouting out the 'LIES, LIES, LIES, LIES, LIES!' etc. bits, with accusatory fingers pointing at the band, heh. *g* I think that's one of the things that's so appealing about their songs - each one is like a compressed spring, full of pent-up nervous energy ready to be released, and it's that anticipation for the moment when it all bursts out - which it inevitably does - that I find so exhilerating. Build and release. It's a simple formula, but oh how it works.

After nearly an hour's tour through most of the album and their stellar B-sides (A19, I Want You To Leave, Fear Of Falling - all could've been on the album) they left us, not yet having played Apply Some Pressure. Well, it was obvious there was an encore coming, but we still had some fun calling them back on. Someone started a football chant to the tune of Here We Go, and soon almost the whole place was joining in singing 'Maxeeemo, Maxeeemo, Maxeeemo!' (that's right, it's pronounced 'Maxeemo Park', thanks to that umlaut) and 'There's only one Paul Smith!' - which is patently untrue, but after that performance you definitely got the message. :)

And so back they came, and as expected, after a couple of others they did indeed finish with Apply Some Pressure - not the first song of theirs I heard, but the first one that made me fall in love with the band, and as such it has a special place for me. What happens when you lose everything? You just start again, you start all over again. What happens when you lose some pressure, apply some pressure, you lose some pressure. What happens when you lose some pressure, apply some pressure, lose some pressure, apply some pressure, lose some pressure, you just start agaaaaaaaain!

You know that I would love to see you next year!
I hope that I am still alive next year!
You know that I would love to see you in that dress!
I hope that I will live to see you undress!
Dum-dudda-duh-dum!

Genius. :)