Before the wildly loved band called The Maine graced the stage at Webster Hall in New York City, another group jammed out for the already-packed venue. The concept of having opening bands started with the idea that they would get the crowd excited and hyped up for the main act. While there is absolutely no doubt that they accomplished this, it would seem that Twin XL had another objective in mind as well. Their set began with a monologue that told the crowd to make friends with someone around them and if they didn’t have anyone to be friends with, they soon would. And when they began to wave and reach out to audience members, it occurred to me that Twin XL considered their own listeners to be their friends, not just fans. To have a row of people at barricade singing the words to an opening band says a lot about the dedication and passion brought forth by both sides of the relationship. Twin XL’s performance was that of a band who are extremely comfortable and confident on stage and I was surprised that they weren’t on their own headlining tour, selling out places like Webster Hall with just their own name. But with the flowery production, charismatic stage presence, and undeniably strong relationship with the fans that they brought to New York City this week, I doubt it will be too long before that all becomes a reality for Twin XL.
Twin XL will be opening for The Maine until November 30th and then for Fitz and the Tantrums next year starting on February 7th. When they inevitably make it big, you’ll get to say you saw them as an opening band, so there is no excuse to miss Twin XL in your city soon!