mxmtoon takes over Brooklyn Bowl with “Liminal Space”

There are few venues that feel like they were tailor-made for an artist, but Brooklyn Bowl — part concert venue, part bowling alley — was the perfect backdrop for Maia, aka mxmtoon, on the New York stop of her “Liminal Space Tour.” Quirky, intimate, and full of unexpected moments, the evening felt like stepping directly into Maia’s ever-evolving world — complete with a bowling lane beside the stage and a fan recording the entire show on a Nintendo 3DS.

Before a single note was played, Maia and her band took full advantage of the setup, bowling a few frames while fans cheered them on, their energy already buzzing long before the lights dimmed. When “Pink Pony Club” played on the preshow playlist, Maia leaned into the moment with a playful grin: “Aha! There are gay people here.” Cue screams of affirmation.

The Show

Launching into the show with “dramatic escape,” Maia instantly drew the crowd into her dreamy, diary-core soundscape — but with a few fresh surprises in store. Her cult favorite “seasonal depression” got a rock and roll facelift, charging the normally soft-spoken song with heavy guitar and a head-banging tempo. Similarly, “prom dress” got a fast, upbeat revamp that had the crowd dancing and screaming every word.

Though she moved to Nashville from NYC last year, Maia made it clear that Brooklyn will always feel like home, calling New York shows some of her most personal. That emotion came through strongest when the band left her solo on stage, giving her room to play “cliché” and “feelings are fatal” acoustically. With just her ukulele and voice, the room quieted down — except for the occasional sniffle from fans tearing up nearby.

Other standouts included the existential banger “god?”, the dreamy “fever dream”, and the cathartic closer “dance (end of the world)”, which felt like one big group hug between Maia and the crowd.

A perfect mix of sincerity, humor, and just enough chaos (again, shoutout to the fan filming with a 3DS), mxmtoon’s Brooklyn show truly felt like a liminal space, except you never want to leave. And based on the joy radiating off both stage and floor, it’s safe to say: if the world is ending, dancing with Maia is exactly the way to go.