TORONTO -- Maroon 5 have been on the road now for nearly three years playing basically the same set to larger and larger crowds.

But for nearly 90 minutes last night at the Air Canada Centre, the band looked like the road is getting the best of them.

Led by singer Adam Levine, who was basically the only one showing any semblance of life, the band's lone Canadian stop on its North American tour had its moments, albeit few and fleeting.

The quintet opened with Shiver and a wall of lights behind them, similar to U2's current Vertigo tour lighting rig. But the band couldn't seem to match the energy of the arena's mainly young female crowd which filled the floor, lower bowl and a portion of the upper tier.

The group's one studio album, Songs About Jane, was the bulk of the set. And for songs like the soulful yet murky Through With You and Tangled, guitarist James Valentine and bassist Jesse Carmichael were human statues.

"Thank you very much!" Levine said before the band's first of three big hits were played, the grittier and edgier Harder To Breathe. Strobe lighting started as the band tore into the track. But at the same time keyboardist Jesse Carmichael almost appeared to be in severe discomfort.

If it wasn't for the enthusiasm of the crowd, it appeared the band might not have gotten through the evening. After tossing out guitar picks, Levine, clad in a white T-shirt and blue jeans, worked the stage during The Sun. The band seemed to gel better on the reggae-like groove during Wasted Years, one of their unreleased tunes.

Having won a Grammy award earlier this year for best new artist, Maroon 5 tried to liven things up with snippets of the past. Yet lyrics from Pink Floyd and The Police's Roxanne were pale imitations as Levine tried to muster as much soul as possible.

Near the homestretch, Levine asked the crowd to sing along for the second hit of the band's short career, This Love. The crowd did most of the early work before the group fleshed the radio-friendly number out.

After the sleeper pick I Can't Stop Thinking About You, Maroon 5 rounded out the main set with Sweetest Goodbye. It was here that all five members finally came alive, jamming out the song with a synergy not seen the entire night.

The encore included a cover of Neil Young's Rockin' In The Free World and She Will Be Loved.

But by then it was too little too late.