The Maccabees @ O2 Academy, Glasgow, 23 June

It’s been ten years since The Maccabees released their debut album, Colour It In. When it was released, they were one of a plethora of groups of young, bright-faced boys with guitars on the UK music scene. Indie was the genre du jour in the mid-noughties, and although its mainstream popularity came and went, the London quintet were one of the few bands from the scene to adapt their sound in response.

A decade down the line, and four albums later, The Maccabees have decided to call it quits. The difference is that unlike other many of their contemporaries, this was their own decision. Tonight’s show in Glasgow is a warm up for their final farewell shows in Manchester and London, but as they point out, it's their last ever Scottish date.

And they play like it it too. From the time the band step on the stage to the moment they say their last goodbyes, The Maccabees are all in. Opening with Feel to Follow from 2012's Given to the Wild, they set a blistering pace that characterises the whole set. Every guitar riff bigger, every solo that little bit more lairy, even on some of the older classics like Love You Better and Precious Time. The audience respond to the band’s energy with their own, or perhaps it’s the other way round.

Either way, it’s not often that you see swathes of people with their arms round each other, bellowing out every lyric only 15 minutes into a set. The band draw heavily from their first two records and less so from the latter pair, but this doesn’t seem to bother anyone and every song is played with the purpose and fanfare of the final song of a set. Triumphant renditions of Latchmere and X-Ray keep the frenzy going, before drawing the encore to a close with the jagged guitar lines of Pelican. They say their heartfelt goodbyes, a genuinely emotional moment shared by those onstage and off.

The Maccabees have always been a band obsessed with the concept of time. From Precious Time’s lyrics of making the most of fleeting moments, to Pelican’s reflection on ageing and relationships, their music has always grappled with what the years are doing to them, and what they know. It seems appropriate that they are finishing 14 years together on their own terms, exerting their own little bit of control over time and its effects.