Greek Theatre goes pop

After going on tour to promote its new album Hands All Over, which was released in September, Los Angeles native Maroon 5 returned this weekend to play an outstanding show at Griffith Park’s Greek Theatre.

The band’s first opening act was the largely undiscovered Ry Cuming, a singer-songwriter from Australia who just released his self-titled debut in July. The audience wasn’t very familiar with his work, but he was well received after his short set.

His sound had traces of Sara Bareilles and Dashboard Confessional as well as Maroon 5, but it also had a lighter, less sexual and more acoustic-driven songs than Maroon 5’s. Ry Cuming wasn’t fantastic, but he provided a nice foreshadowing for the main attraction.

OneRepublic took the stage next, opening with the song “Everybody Loves Me” from its new album Waking Up. It had a long set for an opening band and played too many songs from its new album, but it got the audience on its feet, finally pumping some liveliness into the crowd.

The band, of course, played the songs everyone was familiar with: “All the Right Moves,” “Stop and Stare,” “Apologize” and new single “Secrets.” However, its new music, including “Good Life” and “Marchin On,” possessed an upbeat and powerful energy that wasn’t present in its older songs and added to the band’s concert appeal.

Front man Ryan Tedder was fun and engaging and understandably so — his songs are about the greatness of life. Also worthy of recognition was Brent Kutzle’s beautiful cello playing, which added a layer of intricacy to the music.

As one of the last — and by far most entertaining — parts of its set, OneRepublic did a mashup of Ben E. King’s classic “Stand By Me” and the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army” where Tedder eventually sang the chorus of Justin Timberlake’s “SexyBack” over the bridge of “Seven Nation Army.”

By then, the atmosphere was buzzing and the audience was more than ready for Maroon 5. After a drawn-out buildup, Maroon 5 finally hit the stage and started off with a bang, playing a bass-heavy, beat-driven version of “Misery,” the first single off Hands All Over.

Then the band played “If I Never See Your Face Again” and “Harder to Breathe,” which progressed into a guitar battle between lead guitarist James Valentine and vocalist Adam Levine. People who have only heard Maroon 5 on the radio would have been pleasantly surprised — or even shocked — by how much skilled guitar work was incorporated into the show.

The band’s set list was versatile; Maroon 5 played a decent number of songs off its new album as well as a few from It Won’t Be Soon Before Long. Not surprisingly, Songs About Jane was the bread and butter of the show. Although not the band’s first album, Songs About Jane was the album that put Maroon 5 on the map and to which the crowd was most receptive.

The band was animated, and charismatic front man Levine put a lot of effort into engaging the audience by running back and forth on stage, jumping (and occasionally falling), doing call and response and dedicating a significant amount of time to shredding on his guitar. There was also a lot of camaraderie between the band members.

Even if many audience members were really only interested in singing along to the handful of recognizable Billboard hits, the band did not slack off with any of its songs. The music mellowed out in the middle and many people sat down for songs such as “Secret,” the impossibly catchy “Won’t Go Home Without You” and fan favorite “She Will Be Loved.” But the crowd popped right back up as the band played the new, upbeat and top 40-ready “Stutter.” Maroon 5 ended with another old favorite, “This Love,” putting the most passion into the last number.

Maroon 5’s set felt a bit short, so the audience members were especially pleased when the band came back out for an encore with funk-infused “Makes Me Wonder” and “Sunday Morning” beneath a giant disco ball. Maroon 5 ended appropriately with “Sweetest Goodbye,” a slow song from Songs About Jane that Levine admitted was one of the very few, if not the only, “nice” songs on the album.

With a medley of its bluesy, funk-influenced pop rock hits, Maroon 5 entertained and engaged the audience, rewarding in particular its more dedicated fans. Levine’s swaggering on stage persona and vocal range further fueled the band’s delivery. Along with its fitting opening acts, Maroon 5 had a second successful night at the Greek Theatre.