This concert review, awarding a 3 out of 5 stars, encapsulates a night of mixed experiences at Stockholm’s Maxim theatre, a venue transitioning from traditional theatre to a more music-centric space. The evening featured performances by Kaah, Adam Taal, Luciia, and N’nima, each offering a unique flavor of R&B, soul, and hip-hop, but struggling, to varying degrees, to connect with the seated audience within the theatre’s traditional setting.
Luciia’s vibrant R&B set pulsated with energy, her music demonstrably designed for dancing. However, the presence of fixed seating at Maxim created an inherent disconnect between the artist’s intention and the audience’s response. Despite Luciia’s efforts to encourage the crowd to rise and dance, the atmosphere never fully ignited to match the dynamism of her performance, even with the inclusion of a live rhythm section, a guest appearance by Sabina Ddumba on the captivating track ”Happens,” and the closing, gender-role-bending brilliance of ”U for a minute.” The review suggests that Luciia’s set deserved a more dynamic and responsive audience.
In stark contrast, N’nima’s performance, preceding Luciia, found a more natural harmony with the seated environment. Her jazz-infused, modern soul ballads, imbued with a deep, emotive vocal delivery, created an atmosphere of introspection, perfectly suited to the theatre’s contemplative setting. Her lyrics, exploring themes of relational disappointments, resonated deeply, weaving a tapestry of suggestive moods. While the performance utilized backing tracks rather than a live band, the review expresses a keen interest in experiencing N’nima’s music with full instrumental accompaniment.
Adam Taal, formerly known as Adam Tensta, brought his extensive, and somewhat disparate, musical catalog to the stage. This diversity, however, proved to be a double-edged sword, dividing his performance into two distinct halves. The initial segment revisited the high-energy, club-infused rap of his early career, featuring the mega-hit ”My Cool” and a powerfully rendered ”Scared of the Dark.” The second half, accompanied by a live band, shifted gears, drawing from his recent album ”Katarina,” a deeply personal tribute to his late mother. This latter section, infused with raw emotion and vulnerability, explored themes of grief and introspection, starkly contrasting with the vibrant energy of the first half.
While both halves of Taal’s performance contained individual high points, such as the chaotically energetic ”Stockholm Paris” in the first segment, the stark shift in tone and tempo created a disjointed experience. This disunity was further exacerbated by an extended technical interruption due to sound problems, reinforcing the impression of two separate, abbreviated performances rather than a cohesive whole.
The unfortunate technical delay also impacted the subsequent performance by Kaah, Sweden’s prominent soul artist. Although Kaah delivered his signature brand of confident, spectacularly funky soul, a significant portion of the audience had already departed, fatigued by the preceding events. This exodus underscores the challenge of maintaining audience engagement in a seated venue when the energy and flow of the evening are disrupted.
Overall, the review paints a picture of a concert experience hampered by a mismatch between musical styles and venue configuration. While each artist delivered commendable performances, the inherent tension between the high-energy nature of some sets and the static seating arrangement at Maxim prevented the evening from achieving its full potential. The review implicitly raises questions about the suitability of transforming traditional theatre spaces into music venues without considering the impact on artist-audience interaction. The differing experiences of the artists highlight the complex relationship between performance style, venue dynamics, and audience engagement in shaping the overall concert experience.
