Briston Maroney, Gig review Scala, 1st of November

By Ariane Couleau 

Four years ago, my best friend and I attended a Wallows concert in Paris. But even before they could step foot on the stage, the crowd was already going nuts over the dazzling support act. This long blond-haired, straight out of Nashville, indie rock personified man, singing about failing relationships and existential crises’ name was Briston Maroney.

Four years later, we decided to go and see him again. His hair was still long, blond, and curly, but he wore something new this time: a floral blouse, some bell-bottom trousers, and a lot more confidence. He juggled between old tracks and songs from his new album Ultrapure, and still managed to squeeze a few self-deprecatory jokes. My favorite moment of the night was when Maroney dropped the most gut-wrenching acoustic version of his track “June”. Beyond all this emotion, he and his band really let themselves go with a classic rock’n’roll jam sesh., rocking out the stage with headbanging, and the guitarist even ending up falling on the ground.

Repeating the cycle, the crowd was blessed by a support act from the angelic Abbie Ozard. Despite some technical problems, the young singer, with her cute smile and her cottage core white dress, mesmerized us with her soft indie pop tracks such as “Pisces”, talking about unmatching energies between a Pisces and a Gemini, or the bolder “Rose Tinted”, where she ends up almost rapping about the inevitable disappointments of growing up.

The only downside of the gig was probably the crowd itself. Despite rocking mullets, leather jackets and doc martens, there were several lulls of energy in the crowd that contrasted with the dynamism on the stage. Overall, the concert was a real success, with a brand new Briston Maroney, who gained in confidence and musical skills, and a relevant and very cool support act. We were very pleased to have seen him again after these four years, and you know what Briston? See you in 2027!