mewithoutYou @ Maxwell’s, Hoboken, NJ 7/18/08

Maps & Atlases, an experimental 5-piece rock band from Chicago, IL that while great to listen to in my room, wasn’t too pleasant live. The instrumentation was superb, but not enthralling. Fans in the front of the stage seemed to be enjoying the set. The groups played songs off its EP, “Tree, Swallows, Houses.” It was fun watching the drummer play all over the place. I couldn’t hear the vocalist’s lyrics and he said “thank you” to often like he didn’t have anything good to say. The band hit the road with RX Bandits and Portugal.The Man at the end of the month.

mewithoutYou came on stage at 8:32pm and performed a 16-song set that included a mix of songs from “Brother, Sister,” “Catch for Us the Foxes,” and three new songs. The set seemed rushed, Aaron only spoke about two times and there wasn’t much band-to-crowd interaction. It was fun watching Aaron’s movements and facial expressions and the drummer in particular.


The highlights for me were “C-Minor,” “O Porcupine,” and “January 1979,” The last song in their set, was a new song. I thought it was interesting to close with a track that was unfamiliar to fans, but it was pulled off nicely. There was a lot of instrumentation in the song and it was a heavier song. I remember the words, radiated so well from Aaron's voice: “Everywhere we look it’s all crazy, it’s all dreams, everywhere we look." Another line went, "the life I have been livin’ will be forgiven.”

mewithoutYou- Maxwell’s 7/18 Setlist
Paper Hanger
Yellow Spider
A Glass Can Only Spill What It Contains
Leaf
David (new)
4 Word Letter (Pt. Two)
Orange Spider
C-Minor
Swan Dive (new)
O’ Porcupine
Son of a Widow
Brownish Spider
In a Sweater Poorly Knit

Encore:
January 1979
New Song