Klaxons Open US Tour at Maxwell's

Despite winning some of the UK's biggest music accolades, including the 2007 Mercury Music Prize for "Myths of the Near Future," the Klaxons didn't expect the hero's welcome at Maxwell's on Sunday night.

"We really should have played this place sooner," said Klaxons vocalist and keyboard player James Righton.

"It's good to start here at Maxwell's so thank you very much, cheers!" bassist and singer Jamie Reynolds soon responded with a thick and very quick English tongue.

The Klaxons formed in 2005 and have experienced a whirlwind of success, blending their indie rock foundations with a rave sensibility for a sound that has been dubbed "New Rave." But while they are known all over the UK and perhaps throughout Europe, the huge crowd that gathered for Reynolds, Righton, guitarist Simon Taylor and drummer Steffan Halperin was quite a sight to be seen. As the band played a mix of tracks from "Myths of the Near Future" as well as their long-awaited second record, "Surfing the Void," their fans seemed to know every lyric these rockers belted out—even some of the newer songs.

Given that I'm a fan, it might seem like there's a bit of a bias when saying that the Klaxons could be one of the best shows the Mile Square venue has put on this year. However when I started listening to "Surfing the Void," which I picked up on a recent trip to London, the sound was bit rougher. It seemed my CD player and iPod just couldn't do it justice, and I had to see what these Englishmen would do with the material for myself.

Like many indie bands that have passed through Maxwell's, Klaxons entertained the crowd, played with all the energy and fervor they had and attempted to blast everyone's ears off. But there was just something about how the crowd reacted to everything they did that really took this show over the top. To join in the dancey spirit the band was giving off, the fans started to move wildly to the beats and at one point even started to form a mosh pit in the middle of the room. 

Since their album doesn't release in the U.S. until Tuesday, songs like "Magick," "Gravity's Rainbow" and the hugely popular "Golden Skans" were the tracks that really got everyone moving, singing and just plain high-pitched shrieking over how much they adore these musicians. After the 13-song set was over, the band didn't even bother getting off the stage and just announced the encore.

"That was the end of part one," Reynolds told the crowd. "So that was fun, thank you very much. So we're very excited to play the title track from our new album, 'Surfing the Void.'"

And as they reached the end of "Atlantis to Interzone" and the end of the show, the fans didn't want the party to end and couldn't help but start booing about it. But instead of feeling bad for the fans' reactions, Righton reassured everyone they were going to stick around Maxwell's.

"Thank you Hoboken," he said. "We'll be staying and drinking and partying all night long so stay with us."

And so the party continued.