The Maccabees at On the Beach Festival

In this heatwave summer, the beach and a festival are probably two top British picks for any weekend. With On the Beach Festival, it’s the best of both worlds as Brighton Beach is home to the famed pebbled shore, seaside rock candy and now a seafront stage for indie rock music through Saturday’s lineup featuring the likes of Miles Kane, Editors and The Maccabees. In association with Radio X, there’s a friendly local feel, stunning backdrop of blue skies and sea plus inclusive stage views across the whole grounds; it’s never claustrophobic and a literal breath of fresh air.

After acts such as Ash and Anna Calvi, singer-songwriter Miles Kane takes to the stage for a charismatic high-energy, high-distortion show featuring songs both old and new. Editors follow with a commanding headline-level set painted by Tom Smith’s distinct vocals and all the right rocky instrumental ebbs and flows. There are hearty cheers for tracks such as Munich and the set ends with all arms in the air for Papillon.

With a golden hour backdrop, The Maccabees emerge shrouded in eerie soundscapes before launching into crowd favourite Love You Better. It’s instant familiarity for the loyal fans who have grown up with the band and are undoubtedly psyched for their recent reunion and continued touring after nearly a decade apart. Alongside an additional two on-stage band members, this is an indie party fest of bouncy rhythms and colourfully catchy guitar riffs with a dash of trumpet for good measure. It’s almost as if the band were never away. In fact, Brighton holds an even more special place in the group’s journey as a place they spent many formative years in; many of tonight’s songs were written in this very location. It’s not quite a homecoming, but it’s not an ordinary Saturday night gig either. The musicians play all the much-loved hits, from Latchmere to a raucous Precious Time; there’s even a chorus carried by the crowd word-for-word. They hit all the right crescendos with the audience clapping along, arms raised, even without guitarist Felix White’s enthusiastic reminders. The energy and tempo are pretty consistent, but there is a delicate moment for the romantic Toothpaste Kisses, another fan favourite that initiates a movement of mass swaying to the whistling.

Following a trip down memory lane, new song Ballad of So Long bravely makes the setlist towards the end of the show, showcasing frontman Orlando Weeks’s vocals in a slower, more wistful production. It’s perhaps an indication that The Maccabees are, in fact, back for good after so long but a mere preview for now. Marks to Prove It and No Kind Words get the up-tempo energy flowing into Saturday night territory before anthemic closer Pelican has everyone dancing their way out of the beach. Telling the crowd, “It’s amazing that you’re here…thank you for getting The Maccabees back together,” it is a testament to the fans who have come back so faithfully and the band for making it feel so easy.

For many on Brighton Beach who have been there since the beginning, this will have been a comeback well worth the wait.

Bev Lung
Photos: Virginie Viche

For further information and future events, visit The Maccabees’s website here.

Watch the video for Pelican here: