“The Maine” Characters Arrive in Anaheim
Anaheim, California - August 21, 2026
The Maine showed off their undeniable energy and charisma at their nearly sold-out performance at the House of Blues in Anaheim last week.
The Maine is a five-piece rock band from Arizona, composed of lead singer John O’Callaghan, guitarists Jared Monaco and Kennedy Brock, bassist Garrett Nickelsen, and drummer Patrick Kirch. In April, the band released their 10th studio album, Joy Next Door. On August 20, they embarked on their most recent tour, “The Tour Next Door,” which started in Tucson, Arizona.
The Maine set off on this tour with a unique proposition: “two sets, one night.” After pop-rock band Hellogoodbye opened the night and got the audience dancing to their 40-minute set, The Maine emerged on stage, clad in suits, and sat on stools behind their instruments for the “quiet” part of the evening.
“Bad Behavior” was the first song of the evening and was immediately met with audience approval as the crowd started singing along. Despite the audience’s obvious excitement, they didn’t overpower O’Callaghan’s voice; instead, they matched his dynamics and served as his background choir. However, the crowd quickly abandoned this supportive role and quickly overpowered the band with its sheer volume for the second song of the night, “Into Your Arms,” a song from The Maine’s 2008 album, Can’t Stop Won’t Stop.
The band also performed a cover of “You’re Still The One” by Shania Twain, followed by “These Four Words,” a fan favorite from their 2013 album, Forever Halloween. The audience was eerily silent as they stood and listened to “These Four Words” with eager intensity. Audience members shushed each other in order to hear the song clearly and sit in the moment of the song’s intimate lyrics.
O’Callaghan admitted that this performance at the House of Blues, Anaheim was the most people The Maine has ever played to in one room. The show was about 80 tickets short of selling out, but the band did not let that get to them as they finished out the quiet portion of the set strong with a performance of “How to Exit a Room,” even inviting crowd surfers for this last song.
After a 15-minute intermission, The Maine returned to stage, louder than ever, as a recording of “Master of Puppets” by Metallica played overhead. Instead of their classy and professional-looking suits, the band returned to stage in casual and comfortable clothing, ready to give it their all for the remaining hour of the show.
Phones flew up as the band opened the second set with “Half A Spark,” a song from their most recent album. After 35 minutes of “boohoo shit,” as O’Callaghan claimed, the audience was ready to dance, as evidenced by the venue’s quaking floor as thousands jumped. “Half A Spark” set a precedent for the night and showed the crowd the expected energy levels at a The Maine show.
Crowd interaction and engagement is a clear superpower of The Maine’s as O’Callaghan frequently checked in with the crowd, picked out specific audience members to talk to, mimicked the “Fishing Pole” dance with an audience member on the balcony, and even gave his mic to the barricade warriors at the front of the crowd to sing the last chorus of “Like We Did (Windows Down).” And, at the request of Kirch’s father, who was in attendance at the show, the band performed “Do You Remember (The Other Half of 23),” which they admitted that they had “no clue how to play.” Audience members shouted the lyrics up to O’Callaghan as the instrumentals dropped in and out of the song as they tried to remember how it went.
Besides the band’s obvious charm, they still managed to keep the crowd’s energy high by producing a high-quality musical performance. Their vocal harmonies in “Identify” and the guitar’s distinct voice in “Touch” were highlights of that night.
The show ended with “Black Butterflies and Déjà Vu,” a staple on The Maine’s setlist and their most popular tune. The energy was high as the last notes of the song rang out, leaving the audience with an unforgettable night and surely leaving the band in good spirits and excited for the remainder of this tour.
Even after almost 20 years of being a band, The Maine seems to approach every show with the same wide-eyed eagerness as any new artist would. The band’s enthusiasm and excitement to perform, as well as their willingness to be vulnerable with the crowd in the quiet moments, is what has kept fans coming back over the years. Here’s to hoping for 20 more years of joy from The Maine.
