[Review] Maroon 5 V Tour in Auckland D1

Performing to a packed out Vector Arena last night - the first of two nights at the venue - Maroon 5 and frontman Adam Levine had the wide-ranging audience screaming for more.

Opening with the drumbeats of their 2014 hit Animals, the band had everyone up and dancing with their tidy brand of pop-rock, while flashing strobe lights revealed the massive extent of the adoring crowd.

Among his detractors, Levine has been labelled "king of the douchebags" - and he certainly looked the part last night in his sleeveless Guns N' Roses t-shirt, swinging around a hot pink guitar for a couple of solos.

But douchebags can be pretty popular and he's obviously well liked - and the voice helps.

Having been around for over ten years now, Maroon 5 has accumulated a big variety of fans in New Zealand, with everyone from little kids to teenagers to mums and dads - and the occasional grandad - getting in on it.

The band's first big hit This Love was a highlight of the night, with Levine starting the crowd off in a singalong.

A stripped-down, acoustic version of She Will Be Loved was a nice intimate moment in the encore - before the band launched into the high energy Moves Like Jagger, ending the show with recent funk-pop hit Sugar.

But one thing that was conspicuously absent was decent stage banter. It wasn't until the band was about five or six songs into the show that the audience was really addressed.

It just didn't really seem like there was much engagement with the audience until about the show was well underway.

The band felt more like a well-oiled machine pumping out the hits they'd obviously played many times before, after a long time on the road.

But that's not necessarily a bad thing. They were tight and on-form, there wasn't much time to be seated and it was a fun and energetic night.