Justin Cook | The Roanoke Times

Frontman Adam Levine of Maroon 5 sings at Burruss Auditorium at Virginia Tech on Tuesday evening.

Two years away from the hit parade can end a career in the fickle and ever-moving pop music world.

It's been that long since Maroon 5 released a record of new songs and hit the pop charts. And the band doesn't have another album scheduled until April.

So it would seem that a tour of college campuses -- to reconnect with fans who remember "She Will Be Loved," "Sunday Morning" and other smashes -- makes for a sharp marketing strategy.

Whether or not that was the intent, Maroon 5's 90 minutes of soul-tinged power-pop had that effect on Tuesday night at Virginia Tech's Burruss Auditorium. In the nearly sold-out venue, at least 2,916 people stayed on their feet -- swaying, clapping and singing along to one big, melody-laden groove after another.

Lead singer/guitarist Adam Levine knew that this student-heavy crowd was loaded with fans. He heard them screaming and saw them bouncing.

"It's so great to play in front of people who truly, truly love what you do," Levine said to cheers.

The band seemed to have a blast with energetic versions of the aforementioned tunes, as well as "Harder to Breathe," "This Love," "Through With You," "Secret" and more.

Maroon 5 takes the classic approach to hit songwriting -- verse, chorus, bridge, addictive hook, tight ensemble playing. But it cut loose, too, for rocking versions of "Through With You" and encore "Sweetest Goodbye," Levine trading guitar-hero licks with James Valentine.

The only new song, "Last Chance," was a Hammond organ-soaked number about love, lust and social class. The crowd responded enthusiastically.

Late in the show, Levine brought up a woman from the crowd to help with the groovy shuffle of "Sunday Morning." She vamped, soaking up her four minutes of campus fame.

The night started with a half-hour of throwback vibes from Fitz & The Tantrums, a glossed-up garage-soul band that grooved hard. With a Roxy Music-era Bryan Ferry lookalike in Fitz -- just the one name -- soul-belting backup singer Noelle Scaggs, Farfisa organ sounds, funky drums and baritone sax, the band looked as cool as it sounded.