LIVE REVIEW // Max Volante @ Brooklyn Monarch
On the dreariest of late Friday afternoons I waited in a five-person line to gain entry into the Brooklyn Monarch to see Max Volante and his band. The venue was cavernous and frankly, opulent, for the part of Brooklyn I was in. The dance floor was populated by a few stragglers clinging onto the back wall while sunlight, albeit weak, streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows. A lone DJ stood on stage blasting Red Hot Chili Peppers remixes. I was skeptical. A few stragglers crept in while I sat through the first opener, unaware of the fact that in a matter of minutes they would soon lose the choice to pay attention or not.
Max and his band took to the stage and faced the task at hand with confidence, actually. For they had a trick up their sleeve — without skipping a beat or delivering weak promises of “a fantastic show for you guys tonight”, the drummer started up the last thing I expected to hear: the beginning of “Come Together” by the Beatles. Max started the neat and tactical business of priming the audience to have the best time they were capable of having by chanting hypnotic directions over the iconic tune: come closer and get ready. But make no mistake — Max is not after control. Max is singular, and open as they come. It’s safe to say by the end of the opening jam both the band and audience were on that exact same wavelength.
Max led the crowd through the rest of the set with an absolutely undeniable passion and unceasing energy, barefoot no less! The band was incredibly tight despite only having played together live a handful of times, as this band is the brand new live configuration of Max’s previously solo music. Max is equally comfortable singing as he is behind his guitar as he is on the keys, jumping from instrument to instrument throughout the set. With a second album still on the way, the band played a mix of released singles and some unreleased tunes — not that the audience minded!
He is a man on a mission. What I saw that night was a man full of passion with an undeniably solid backing band, yes. But beyond that, I watched an artist proclaim to the audience that he’d “do it all for free” — and it’s true. There is no world in which Max Volante is not going to do literally whatever is in his power to connect people. It’s enthralling to witness.
Words: Lucie Chantepie // Photos: Elena Saviano
Keep up with Max Volante on Instagram and stream on Spotify and Apple Music.
