When I heard Maroon 5 was coming to Toronto, I decided to splurge and purchase the Animals package. This included a commemorative ticket, VIP badge, hat and messenger bag. The best part wasn’t the merchandise, but rather my view of Adam Levine from my seat in the ninth row on the floor. His tattoos were within plain sight and I relished the possibility that he was so close, we could make eye contact. We didn’t, but that’s ok.
Following a performance by Rozzi Crane, MAGIC! kicked off the night and celebrated their Juno award win. I’m partial to anyone wearing red pants and MAGIC! took that one step further in bold red pantsuits. Snaps for killer fashion! In fact, they seemed to put more effort into their attire than Adam, who wore a black and white graphic t-shirt and black pants.
Adam started his set with Animals, and then it wasn’t long until their was a rare interruption: microphone failure. The band has been touring for over ten years and that’s never happened before. What’s a concert without a working microphone? Well, after Adam threw the mic out of frustration, he thought it hit a fan, so he welcomed her onstage, held her hand and hugged her, then gave her an even better seat closer to the stage for the rest of the show. Lucky girl.
Maroon 5’s set was filled with hits including One More Night, This Love, Sunday Morning and Moves Like Jagger. Throughout the entire show, it was clear that Adam enjoys using a microphone stand as a prop while singing, as he took it with him as he moved around the stage.
Almost every singer seems to enjoy taking a moment and asking fans to turn on the flashlight on their cell phones to create a romantic atmosphere and Adam was no exception. Not everyone can convince a stadium of thousands of fans to turn off cameras and phones for the duration of a song, but Adam has that power. He said it’s been working well on the tour and I can see why. The room was darker and it felt more serene when Adam sang She Will Be Loved in the middle of the Air Canada Centre.
I was surprised they didn’t play more songs from their latest album V, but I guess it was a timing concern. Nevertheless, the show was jam-packed with classic Maroon 5 songs and they saved Sugar, my new favourite, for the encore.