Autumn is famously the time when couples begin to cuff and the weather begins to chill. On Oct. 21, Matt Maltese was waiting with warm arms ready to welcome both phenomena.
Maltese’s Bay Area stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland on his “Tour For You My Whole Life” proved a perfect location for him to do so; the venue beckoned concertgoers in with its historic architecture, creating a lived-in and comfortable ambience on par with much of Maltese’s discography.
This warmth carried through the first half of the night as Cornelia Murr opened the show with sultry and jazzy renditions of her greatest hits, both new and old. While she basked in the glow of the stagelights, she thanked the audience for joining her at such a beautiful place. But really, the audience should have thanked Murr, as her performance perfectly introduced the bittersweet tone to come.
When Maltese finally took the stage, an outsider could easily have been caught off guard by the reaction bubbling from his fans. For a moment, the subdued energy that had held strong was gone in favor of screams, cheers, stomps and even dog barks. Within a few minutes, Maltese managed to reset the course with a stage presence both comforting and shy. Behind him, his band spread out to make him the sole focus, careful not to completely isolate him. As he took to the mic with “Always Some MF,” the audience was immediately transfixed, holding on to his every note.
Shortly after starting his set, Maltese eagerly introduced his band with endearing tidbits, showing how much appreciation and respect he had for his team while encouraging everyone else to feel the love themselves.
And feeling the love this audience was. This writer may be a lonely heart, but I’m certainly not made of stone. While people embraced their partners, drawing them into a slow dance during Maltese’s biggest hits such as “As the World Caves In,” even I felt the swooning romance radiating throughout the Fox.
It wasn’t just romance fueling the concert, though. As Maltese told stories from his home across the pond, groups of friends laughed at the parallels to their own lives. No one wanted to miss a single word he had to say, evident by the linked arms of pals sprinting into the pit when he introduced “Less and Less” with a story about his last trip to San Francisco.
Heading into the concert, it was easy to feel an unsettling sense of deja vu. Given the TikTok success of some of Maltese’s songs, he easily could have ended up echoing Steve Lacy’s frustrations with the state of concertgoers. Instead, as people excitedly swayed and sang along to Maltese’s setlist of new singles and old hits, he humbly basked in the adoration of the room and quickly returned the favor.
Halfway through the show, he seized the opportunity to address his rendition of “Happy Birthday” to a specific member of the audience, bringing them up onto the stage and presenting them with a party hat and cupcake while he crooned. It was an incredibly sweet gesture, and clearly showed how much appreciation Maltese has for his fans who have granted him the success and love he has enjoyed.
Maltese’s discography might be categorized as lonesome lamentations of heartache and hurt, but his concerts easily capture the other side of the coin. Yes, plenty of his songs were for the more heartbroken audience members, but for each of them there was another for the couple deliriously in love. Parents leaned their heads on each other’s shoulders while watching their kids dance with one another in the pit, echoing the motif of nostalgic adoration in much of Maltese’s work.
In the span of a single night, Maltese showcased a lifetime of love, loss and friendship, cementing his voice as one of the strongest indie rock has to offer.