SHOW REVIEW: Briston Maroney
Cover photo courtesy of Ariel Goldberg for Goldenvoice
FONDA THEATRE | LOS ANGELES, CA| MARCH 14, 2024 | BY TABITA BERNARDUS
It was the middle of March in Los Angeles, the weather still a strange rut of early spring gloom as people with Briston Maroney tickets lined up in front of The Fonda Theatre. Following the release of his most recent album “Ultrapure” back in September of last year, the Ultrapure World Tour began its run and was finally making a pit stop on Hollywood Boulevard. Performing at this venue for two nights in a row was yet another one of Maroney’s well-deserved achievements as an artist, having upgraded from the Troubadour stage not too long ago.
Opening the set with “Body” acted as the perfect catalyst for what the rest of the night’s journey would look like– pure celebration and unashamed transparency. Straight out the gate, Maroney and his band’s explosive stage presence ran alongside the track’s twangy guitar chords and punchy drum beats, effortlessly inviting the crowd into a loose, carefree state. His delivery of lines like “But I got today and the only plan I’ve made / Is to love like I might never get to love someone again” felt like proud exclamations of what his record encapsulates– the invigorating intensity of what it means to be alive. Maroney spared no time to cheekily introduce the next song “Small Talk,” a grungy guaranteed crowd favorite, as one about “talking too much” before continuing to ride the up-tempo high with “Chaos Party” on an acoustic.
After taking a moment to properly introduce his band and thank their opener Snarls for joining the tour, the venue gradually began to fill with booms of bass drum kicks that held the ambiance of an end-credit scene to a coming-of-age film. Maroney ties it together by creeping in with the lyrics “I hate to say it, but I think I’m getting too old” off of the track “Fool’s Gold,” one of the first songs he wrote when he had moved back to Nashville years ago. By choosing to sing “Broken clock still keeps the time / Who says I’ve got to stay in line” in a more hushed tone, his sudden emphasis on its following lines “I’m so sick of these city lights” felt all the more cathartic as the drums and guitars kicked in to create a gut-punching effect that commanded the audience’s attention.
Whether it was the echoes of a recording Maroney played or a guitar build-up to the next track, every transition was a captivating interlude. This was the case for “Sunshine” as a yellow spotlight washed over the stage while a voice memo about the art of loving gradually faded out. It’s a tone shift from the last song, with Maroney now singing lyrics like “I just keep telling myself someday the sun will come shining again” and “I wanna thank you for loving me when I just don’t know what to say.” Each word spilled out like sun rays onto the crowd as if he were wrapping the audience in a tender embrace, telling both himself and everyone in the room that better days would always arrive.
Maroney’s setlist was skillfully crafted with care to showcase the best of his catalog. Highlighting songs from both earlier in his career to the newest record, Maroney executes a form of storytelling through his selections that seamlessly bounce between lyrically contrasting tracks like “Under my Skin” and “Paradise.” It feels full of both grit and warmth, capturing themes of acceptance and self-growth as if to reflect the journey Maroney has been on.
Whether it was cracking funny comments with a smile plastered across his face or thrashing across the stage while playing the most intense, immersive guitar riffs, Maroney never held back in showing how much fun he was having. Midway through “June”, he pauses to engage with shouts of affirmation from the crowd by responding with “Okay, what else do you like about me?” before diving back in.
With the final stretch of the main set came well-loved hits like “Caroline,” “Sinkin’,” and the hard-hitting beats of “Steve’s First Bruise.” At one point, Maroney even catches everyone off guard by singing an unfamiliar track with a muffled mic effect, hopefully hinting at new projects to come. Stirring the crowd with one of his biggest hits “Freakin’ Out On The Interstate,” a chorus of voices flooded the room as each word was sung in unison, with an emotionally raw and mystifying performance of “Rose” right after.
During the encore, Maroney had a reflective moment on his live career, calling back to his Troubadour show– “I remember calling my girlfriend, and I was l crying in the bathroom and lying on the ground… and I was like ‘I really connected with the music tonight and I felt like I met God.’” He expressed appreciation for how hype but also attentive the crowd had been throughout the night before sending everyone off with the fitting lines of “I’ve been waiting / For you all my life” from “I’ve Been Waiting.”
Maroney is a clear, tangible embodiment of his music. From his exuberant stage presence to the vulnerable delivery of his lyrics, he is someone who represents what it looks like to be an outpouring of doing something you love.