Maroon 5 is bringing sexy sounds back to school.

The band played at Sacred Heart University Thursday night as a part of its “Back to School” college tour around the country.

Maroon 5 concerts are like a fun trip on a carpet, also known as Adam Levine’s vocals.  His voice just soars over any song they play.

The boys of the band, led by Levine, know how to rock hard and play cool through it all.  Most of its songs are loaded with sexuality, but in suits, the band manages to project a sophisticated sexy (even when Levine periodically sheds articles of clothing at the end of songs).

Maroon 5 is one of those bands where every song on the album sounds like a single, a great thing for a live concert. Each song ups the ante and keeps you wanting more.

Even the slow songs are full of energy and would often end with the boys jamming it out — they love to improvise at the end of their tunes and play really hard, as they sometimes do at the end of the tracks on their albums (think “Kiwi” from their second album “It Won’t Be Soon Before Long”).

At the end of “Secret,” the slow and sensual tune from the band’s first album “Songs about Jane,” front man Levine broke into a drawn out version of Pink Floyd’s “Another Brick in the Wall.”
The band also experimented with its recent single “Wake Up Call” by having guitarist James Valentine play acoustically and in the style of country. The band slowed down the tempo as well, which gave it a lilting feel. It was a surprise, but a good surprise.

Then, in one of the best covers I’ve ever heard, Levine tackled Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You”. Sorry, Alicia, but Mr. Levine rocked this one way harder than you ever could. Honestly, I wish they would record that and put it on the band’s next album. According to previous interviews with Levine, Maroon 5’s third studio album should be out in early 2010.

The band only played one new song, entitled “Last Chance,” which sounded very similar to many tracks on their most recent album, but it was a fun, high-energy song and unlike other concerts, I wasn’t disappointed when they played a song I didn’t know.

In one of the greater moments of the night, Levine stopped mid-ballad and picked out a little girl from the audience to bring her on stage, because she was holding up an iPhone with an image of a lighter.  He pointed to it and said “This is the future!”

Levine got pretty crazy with his comments between songs, and at one point, he even condoned downloading music illegally.

“Just keep doing it,” he said.  “The industry is so messed up.”

And before singing his encore-requesting audience the lullacy “Sweet Goodbye” to end the evening off right, Levine said that the band loves college tours, and was happy to perform for the audience.
“You guys are really here for the music,” he said.

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