How the Arizona natives have kept fans coming back, all with one album.
The Maine (L to R: Jared Monaco, John O'Callaghan, Kennedy Brock, Garret Nickelsen, and Pat Kirch [top]).
Photo by Guadalupe Bustos
Arizona emo group, The Maine have continued to put out album after album of quality content. The quintet—which includes lead singer John O’Callaghan, guitarist Jared Monaco, guitarist Kennedy Brock, bassist Garret Nickelsen, and drummer Pat Kirch—have managed to build a fanbase of like-minded and passionate people who are all just looking to have a good time after over their fifteen years as a band. They’re weird, quirky, and unapologetically themselves.
I first started listening to The Maine in 2015, after the release of American Candy. The album was transformative for me. There is not one bad song on it, and it ranks in my top three all-time favorite records. In 2017, when it was announced The Maine would be releasing a new album, I refrained from listening to it for a whole two months because I didn’t want it to spoil the memory of American Candy. Said album, 2017’s Lovely Little Lonely is of the highest quality and one of the most complete albums cover to cover.
Album Breakdown
The twelve-track Lovely Little Lonely or LLL for short, features songs that have since become mainstays in The Maine’s setlists. Songs like “Don’t Come Down,” “Bad Behavior,” “Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu,” and “How Do You Feel?” have all found homes onstage and in the hearts of fans.
LLL follows almost a cyclic pattern where a song is energized, then it’s slow and something you’d like to vibe along to. The title tracks “Lovely,” “Little,” and “Lonely” all serve as interludes, that introduces the upcoming theme for that part of the album. Despite “Lonely” being the longest of the three (a whopping two and a half minutes when the other two sit below one minute), it has also been the one played least by the band. I think this is the case because the other two are used more as interludes between songs and as a chance for John O’Callaghan to command the crowd.
John O'Callaghan at Sad Summer Festival
The Rooftop at Pier 17, July 2019
Photo by Tara Salvati
Probably their most famous song, “Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu” is a must see at a show. It’s high energy, the lyrics are infectious, and the way O’Callaghan demands the crowd move and sing along is addicting. That is probably one of the songs I’ve heard the most played by The Maine, and it’s one of their most played songs of all time, despite it only being five years old.
While “The Sound of Reverie” has been played live plenty of times, I believe it is in need of a revisit. The song is perfect to fit into The Maine’s setlist and is one of those songs that can definitely be danced to, but isn’t one that entails crazy jumping and pushing. The same goes for “Taxi.” Despite it being one of the more memorable songs from the album, because it’s a little slower than the rest of the album, The Maine have taken it off their setlist. I think that there’s room to revisit these songs and maybe even the whole album.
Seeing The Maine Live
Unfortunately, despite my long-lasting love and devotion to The Maine’s music, I have never seen them headline a show. I’m hoping that will change in March when they hit the House of Blues in Boston, but I’m not holding my breath. I’ve seen them play three times, and each was at some different kind of festival. The first was 2018’s Warped Tour, and the second two times were Sad Summer Festival, in 2019 and 2021.
Jared Monaco at Sad Summer Festival
The Rooftop at Pier 17, August 2021
Photo by Tara Salvati
I hold these shows lovingly in my heart. The Maine puts on such a great live show, by incorporating their fans, and different aspects of their repertoire to create such a fun time. One of my favorite memories is from 2018’s Warped Tour. During their set John O’Callaghan saw someone vaping in the crowd and told the guy to throw the vape up to him. O’Callaghan not only took a hit but declared it as “beef flavored” and had everyone in the crowd with a vape to let clouds go all at the same time. It was funny and reminiscent of how The Maine acts with all of their fans.
8123
My favorite thing about The Maine is that they love their fans. Out of every other band I’ve covered I think I’ve said they love their fans, but The Maine takes it to a whole other level. They’ve successfully created a community that is willing to follow them into a burning building. Or more specifically, the rooftop of a building that overlooks a different building. The Maine have named their community 8123, which is the address of a building that they oversaw when they snuck onto the roof of a building they hung out at. It kind of became a code for their hang out spot when they were in high school. They’ve incorporated 8123 into their songs, named their independent record label after it, call their fans the 8123Fam, and even named a festival after it—8123Fest. They’ve also created a culture of giving back to their fans.
The Maine's Set Up, Warped Tour 2018
Photo by Tara Salvati
On Warped Tour, their motto was “Why would you pay money to meet a human being?” They did free meet and greets and that’s how I met them the first time. They were super nice (and tall). The Maine have made a habit of staying after shows to meet everyone who wants to stay and talk. They’ve had to tighten that up a bit because of COVID and because Pat Kirch and John O’Callaghan both have a baby at home, but they still interact with their fans regularly on social media. They’re never that far away.
The Maine and I at Warped Tour
Jones Beach Amphitheater, July 2018
The End of an Era
Lovely Little Lonely was a defining moment in The Maine’s history as a band. While their previous albums had been good (or in the case of Forever Halloween merely okay), American Candy was a turning point. It was one of the best records of the first half of the 2010s and continues to be a fan favorite. The success of LLL was integral in keeping fans coming back. If the album had been merely okay, or average, it would’ve diminished the accomplishments of American Candy, but instead it proved The Maine had upped their game were ready to be major players in the scene. And since LLL, they've continued to put out high quality records. This all culminated in a literal funeral for Lovely Little Lonely. In 2018, the band played a one-off show in Silver Spring, Maryland that was dubbed The Funeral. They encouraged their fans to wear red and to bring roses to place in a literal coffin to put the album’s era to rest. At that time, they were already writing 2019’s You Are OK and were ready to move onto that next stage.
A truly extra way to end an era of a career defining album.
What do you think? Do you think Lovely Little Lonely was a defining album? Let me know!
You can follow The Maine on Instagram @themaineband and Twitter @themaine
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