I went to see Briston Maroney on Feb. 3, 2024, at the Paradise Rock Club on Commonwealth Ave in Boston. I went with the VIP package that included a private acoustic set and Q&A before the actual show. Maroney himself came across to me as a kind and creative individual at first impression. His curly cotton candy hair sprouted out under his beanie in pink and blue. He answered questions from, what song means the most to you to what is your least favorite food. (Answers being: “Fool’s Gold” and Olives)

The Paradise Rock Club is a small venue so I was lucky enough to be in the front row for both parts of the show. The intimate acoustic beginning lasted roughly an hour and was very much for the die-hard fans. The stage setup was shades of blue, green, pink, and purple. Trippy colored lights are shown over silly cartoon figures decorating the stage. Left of center stage these huge blue eyes made of iridescent paper are looking back out over the audience.

Opener Phoebe Go was pretty high quality. I wish she was advertised for the tour more because I would have loved to listen to her stuff preemptively before the show. Her voice stood out as sultry and smooth while she rocked a hippie grunge aesthetic. This is the beginning of a solo career for the Australian artist and landing a spot on Briston Maroney’s tour is the best place to be. He spoke very highly of her. She is clearly a talented performer but also is definitely getting into a groove with being comfortable on stage alone. She seemed a little nervous but the crowd loved it and bounced off of her quirky demeanor. The indie pop singer-songwriter should be proud of how far she has come and has amazing potential. She is undoubtedly a miraculous musician but a few of the songs themselves were slow for a rock concert and didn’t seem the catch the attention of the audience.

After Maroney took the stage it was game over. Every song was hit after hit after hit. The band kept it so tight. I feel like there is a big difference between musicians playing for the audience and musicians playing for the music and these guys were for the music. More than the audience, They were looking at each other and just connecting like musicians should. The drummer especially was so fantastic and drove grit into the rhythm with every hit. I have never been more wrong about an artist before going to a show because I did not realize that Briston Maroney could rock like this. I would have described his genre as soft rock at best. I left me feeling surprised and invigorated. At one point Maroney got behind the drum set himself and played for a while!

The second electric guitar player was ecstatic. He kept jump-kicking in the air and was on his back STILL playing. Performing should be an enjoyable and effortless experience that feels like you are unconscious or out of your body. I say this as a musician who has performed on much smaller stages but many many times. This band understood the assignment and felt every single guitar tone in every second. Maroney himself I saw even had his eyes completely closed for extended lengths of time which I had only seen before in videos of Marvin Gaye performing way back when. Being completely in the moment is the only way to bring the audience there with you. I could feel the electricity from the stage radiating and filling me with this crazy euphoria for being there.

According to the audience’s screams, the best songs of the night were “Freakin’ Out On The Interstate” and “Small Talk” which makes sense because those are his two most popular songs. I think the highlights of the night were “Rose” and “Under My Skin”. “Rose” especially felt transcending because he did what Rock and Roll used to be about and turned a concert into a jam session. Musicians bouncing off each other in the moment and seeing where the melody takes you. I only had one drink the whole night but that concert left me on a high that lasted until the next day, it was just so good.

The audience could tell the band was having a blast and they even added songs not originally on the set list lengthening the concert for fun. Seeing this live reminds me of all the reasons why making music is so beautiful and I would highly recommend it to anyone who can go see this tour live while they have the chance. My final takeaway is that Briston Maroney can bring heartfelt emotions into the chaos of rock and roll with perfect clarity. I hope that anybody who needs that will find him.