On February 9, two translucent eyeballs and a menagerie of fantastical creatures provided the backdrop to folk rock artist Briston Maroney’s performance at Thalia Hall. The show, Maroney’s second sold-out night in Chicago, was part of a nationwide tour celebrating his recent album Ultrapure. Briston’s sophomore album offers a heartfelt conversation about nostalgia, childhood, and innocence.
Before Maroney took the stage, opener Phoebe Go warmed up the crowd. The Australian alt-pop artist, previously a member of indie/dream pop band Snakadaktal, greeted the audience with her mellow tracks “7 Up” and “We Don’t Talk.” Enveloped in a warm orange and purple glow, Go’s set ended with her showered by a series of rainbow lights.
Amidst cheers from the crowd, Maroney appeared on stage with his backup band. Maroney quickly slipped into “Body,” the first single on Ultrapure. “Sleeping in parking lots and missing all my friends a lot/ remembering what I forgot when I was a kid,” Maroney sang, transporting us back to that summer before senior year of high school. Addressing existential angst, he offered, “Someday, my body will be just a body…/ but I got today.”
Maroney embodied his childlike idealism with a couple of other tunes on Ultrapure. In “Breathe,” he reminded the audience to “remember to breathe,” and in “Sunshine,” Maroney declared that “someday the sun will come shining again.” Despite the simplicity in messaging, each song felt like a warm hug. In between a couple tracks, Maroney turned from the audience and slipped into some hardcore jamming with his band. After riffing off each other, Maroney flung his guitar up in the air in a series of triumphant tosses.
Maroney had many loyal fans in the audience. One of my highlights of the show was witnessing a little girl energetically lip sync to every word in “Caroline” and “June” on the second-floor balcony. Maroney slowly built up to the emotional climax of the night, which came with the fan favorite “Freakin’ Out on the Interstate.” The anthem that had propelled Maroney to stardom enraptured the audience. As soon as the first notes of the song came on, a palpable wave of energy traveled through the room. Fans sang along, and every strum of Maroney’s guitar seemed to reverberate deep in their heartstrings.
Maroney ended the night with “Ultrapure,” the album’s namesake and last song of his most recent album. Softly acoustic, the song felt like a personal message to his fans. “I would walk through this fire, full of doubts with a general smile,” Maroney sang. I couldn’t help but think that he was reassuring us that it will all turn out alright if we just hold on to our inner child.
