By Alannah Mylechreest, Community Subeditor
‘He’s evolved!’ I overheard someone say to their friend as we were leaving the venue at the end of the night. This summed up my thoughts of the concert so perfectly that I considered not writing a full review and simply leaving it with that quote.
This was my second time seeing Matt Maltese, my fifteen-year-old self’s favourite artist, playing live and it was just as, if not more so, a magical evening as it had been previously. The venue was larger, the sound was fuller, Matt carried himself more confidently, and yet everything still felt deeply personal.
I was taken almost by surprise when, upon entering, instead of taking his usual place sat behind the piano, Matt sung the opening song ‘Always Some MF’ stood suavely in front of a microphone - a choice that, combined with cool blue lighting and the slow groove of the song, transported the audience into the world of an intimate jazz club, despite there being around a thousand of us watching captivated.
With a discography now spanning six albums, there were plenty of songs that could have been performed by Matt that night. The setlist was nonetheless well-crafted; songs from his most recent album Hers such as ‘Buses Replace Trains’ and ‘Anytime, Anyplace, Anyhow’, the closing number, bookended the concert, whereas the middle section was packed with old favourites.
Songs from Matt’s back catalogue that had been sung (and blasted through the speakers of my phone) thousands of times managed to stay fresh through new, and oftentimes more upbeat, arrangements.
My personal highlight was the faster-paced, groovy setting of ‘Jupiter’, which benefited from the addition of the electric guitar which now played the track’s opening riff, and closed out on a gorgeous solo.
In fact, all of the supporting members of Matt’s band were given their own opportunities to shine, including a saxophone solo to finish off ‘Madhouse’, and a drum solo to segue from ‘Everybody’s Just as Crazy as Me’ into ‘Krystal’. Speaking of segues, the transition from the obligatory feature of ‘As the World Caves In’ into ‘Intolewd’ was so smooth that it gave me goosebumps which didn’t fade until long after I’d returned home.
Matt’s charming and witty lyrics reflected his humorous personality on stage as well. To begin ‘Arthouse Cinema’, Matt turned around from his piano stool and began pretending to conduct his band, whilst the curtains adorning the back of the stage turned a shade of red similar to that found in theatres.
The line from the song’s refrain ‘But it helps to pause the real world’ rang particularly true in this moment - for a little while, I could ignore the stresses of uni and immerse myself in the world Matt hoped to create.
Likely the most special moment of the gig for so many was the performance of ‘Happy Birthday’, a song which, despite the melancholic lyrics about remembering an ex on their birthday, Matt told us he hoped to replace the original birthday song with.
In order to achieve this goal, he invited a member of the audience who was celebrating their twenty-second birthday that day to join him on stage. They were gifted with a tiny party hat and cupcake, and seemed to be having an amazing time, eventually encouraging the audience to wave their hands in time to the beat in an act of beautiful synchronisation.
Matt Maltese’s gig is certainly one that I’ll be reminiscing on for a long time, and when he returns to Bristol again, rest assured that I'll be there once more.
Featured image: Alannah MylechreestWhat is your favourite Matt Maltese song?
