The Maine Make Boston Emo Again

Tuesday night was a packed one at Boston’s Royale night club, as hundreds of fans lined up outside eagerly awaiting entrance into the 1k cap venue.

Though the air was the coldest it had been all week, following a brutal rain storm earlier in the day, that didn’t stop any of the fans lining up outside from buzzing with excitement about the night to come.

As for what they were waiting for? The Mirror Tour: starring The Maine, featuring Twin XL and hometown guest, Nick Santino.

Once doors opened, around 6:30pm, fans flooded into the building, eagerly awaiting to find out what the band’s rumored “Mirror Experience” had to offer.

With one half of the venue set up like a small pop up shop, all three artists had various merch items available, some of which were backlit by glowing neon lights.

To the right of the merch stand were two photo taking opportunities: one featuring You Are Okay logos on a navy blue backdrop, and one blue and white striped tent lined with mirrors.

And while the photo ops and merch kept many fans busy as orchestral versions of various The Maine songs played, the intro music for Twin XL had everyone rushing to the stage to catch the first act of the night.

“Hello, welcome to the Twin XL show,” the computer voice greeted the crowd.

“Find a friend. If you do not have any friends you will be assigned a friend. Pay no attention to the end of the world.”

Opening with their hit track “Sunglasses,” the trio made up of Cameron Walker, John Gomez and his brother Stephen took the stage joined by touring drummer Brennan Benko.

“Hey what’s up? We’re Twin XL from Los Angeles,” Walker announced. “Welcome to The Mirror Tour my friends.”

“Is it okay if we play a new song?” he asked before playing an unreleased track. “This song is about John Callaghan from The Maine. It’s called ‘Melt'”

The band’s nine song set included favorite tracks “Don’t Wake Me I’m Still Dreaming,” “Friends,” “Neon Summer,” and their latest single “Messy.”

Ending on their first ever release “Good,” it became clear that Twin XL had gained new fans throughout their set- with the majority of the crowd dancing, whistling and singing along to the lyrics.

Following Twin XL was “hometown boy” Nick Santino, formerly of A Rocket To The Moon and Beach Weather.

And though Santino has not been around in the public music scene as of late, that has not stopped him from working on new music and writing new songs. One of which he shared with the crowd.

“I’ve been home for a minute, two years actually,” Santino laughed. “I’ve been staying off the internet, I have a baby. It’s cool. But I wrote this next song that I’m calling ‘Peace and Love’ because I feel like there’s not a lot of that going around today.”

Santino’s 45 minute setlist contained a mix of tracks from throughout his career, including new songs, Beach Weather tunes, and some crowd favorites from A Rocket to the Moon, such as “Like We Used To,” “Baby Blue Eyes,” and “Dakota.”

“When The Maine asked me to come out for these few shows, I was nervous because it’s been a while, and if it was any other band I’d have said no. But it’s The Maine, and you guys. You are the fucking best.”

“Thank you for coming out, and I hope to see you all again soon.”

After Santino left the stage, the venue filled with the sounds of fellow emo bands as production crew members took to the stage to set up for the *Maine* event.

And then at 9pm, after the brief intermission, The Maine took the stage.

Kicking things off with their newer songs “Slip the Noose” and “My Best Habit,” the crowd burst into applause screams as the band began to play.

Made up of frontman John O’Callaghan, drummer Pat Kirch, guitarists Kennedy Brock and Jared Monaco, and bassist Garrett Nickelson, The Maine are a five piece band from Arizona.

Following their formation in 2007, the band has risen to prominence in the alternative/emo scene for their mix of pop songs and deep cuts, many of which discuss the trials and tribulations of growing up, struggling with mental health issues, and traditional love songs.

With the release of their latest album “You Are Okay” earlier this year, the band have made an extended effort to help fans and strangers alike learn to feel okay in their lives and remind everyone that “it may not be okay now, but it will be soon.”

While most of the band’s set featured songs from “You Are Okay,” they made sure to add in some older tracks, like “Inside of You,” “Am I Pretty,” and “Like We Did (Windows Down).”

Halfway through the band’s set, O’Callaghn surprised fans by jumping into the crowd and starting a short lived sing-a-long.

“I did a social experiment in New Jersey the other day and I’m going to do the same thing here, but it’s not going to be exactly the same. I’m just going to say… ‘All the, small things,” O’Callaghn sang, causing the audience to launch into a chorus of “All The Small Things” by Blink-182.

“I’m so glad you all know that,” the singer laughed after the crowd hit the chorus.

“Now, on the count of three you’re all going to yell your favorite song. One, Two, Three!” O’Callaghan yelled before the crowd erupted with screams of various song titles.

“I heard most of you and it was our song ‘Unlost.'”

O’Callaghan then launched into an acoustic version of the track before making his way back to the main stage, where he joined the rest of the band to finish out their songs “Tears Won’t Cry,” “Black Butterflies and Deja Vu,” “I Must Be Dreaming,” and “Numb Without You.”

But before departing the stage, the band had one special video to show the crowd, explaining The Mirror Tour and what it means to grow up, go through hardship, but keep going along, before playing their final song “Flowers on the Grave.”