The Maccabees Live For The Last Time

It was bound to be an emotional tour for everyone, but also one of the most special to experience. The Maccabees always hit the nail on the head with me with their indie anthems, so to hear they were splitting broke my heart. Having been lucky to enough to secure tickets to their Friday night show at Alexandra Palace, a beautiful venue I might add, I knew it was going to be the most emotionally eventful gig I'd ever attended.

Mystery Jets opened the night with a combination of classics, Young Love, and new bops Bubblegum. I couldn't have picked a better band to play the support slot for this particular tour, it was the perfect tone to get the crowd in the mood for the history they were about to experience. Towards the end of their set the venue was almost at capacity, dancing along to Someone Purer, the anticipation in the crowd could be felt as soon as you entered the room.

There they were, the roars of cheers sent shivers down my spine, The Maccabees were live for the last time. The opener Wall Of Arms created a wall of sound that took over the venue, as people of all ages sang and danced to the hits from the seven beautifully produced albums. From then on the energy grew and grew which meant the band had full control of the stage, performing each song with absolute perfection.

This wasn't going to be a dull farewell for The Maccabees, a sad one yes, but never dull. Almost every single person witnessing this show were belting out the lyrics to Love You Better, Precious Time and Latchmere, the classics we knew we could never sing live with the band again. They continued to play their songs loud and proud, and from the response from the crowd, it was clear no one was ready to let these British sweethearts leave us just yet.

Encore time. The last four songs we'd ever hear them play. And there was no time for messing around, maybe a short breath to introduce Toothpaste Kisses to which felt like they were singing us some sort of lullaby. Pelican brought down confetti from the sky and a roar of europhia combined with the bittersweet lyrics 'And we go back to where we came from'. It was a special time for everyone attending this tour, the band especially, and you could see it hit them hard too. Hugging each other between songs, and Orlando Weeks seen to be wiping a tear from his eye.

Thank you to The Maccabees for the many years of wonderful music you've given us.

Photos by Phoebe Fox.

#themaccabees