On the first Friday in April, my B-Side bestie Sam and I stumbled our way out of the Powell Street BART station and towards my favorite venue in San Francisco- August Hall. With a “SOLD OUT” sign plastered on a marquee and a line going all the way down the block, Matt Maltese’s Friday concert was an evening filled with enthralling acoustic sets, bossanova tracks, and a crowd screaming the words to every song.
The Army, The Navy, a San Francisco native-based duo, opened up the evening with a stripped-back acoustic set. Their voices blended perfectly together, the pop-inspired tunes merged with an indie folk feel enchanting me to another place. The harmonies were out of this world, and to see a balcony full of the band’s family and friends at their hometown show was so endearing to see. Performing some songs off of their newest EP, Fruit for Flies (2024), the short opening set was one to remember, as the duo’s songs found their way to my homework playlist soon after the show.
When Matt Maltese took the stage, my mind was preoccupied with about ten other things- from internship applications completed after their deadline, an escalating case of the sniffles, to frantic phone calls with my family. All my worries melted away when Maltese took to the stage, playing the piano in an angelic manner, opening with one of my favorites- “You Deserve an Oscar.” 
My favorites of the night included “Mystery,” which is a beautiful song about the mystery of how one can be loved by another. This piece has always been one of my favorites, a staple song of my senior year of high school. There is something just so perfect about the song that I cannot describe, and was made even more perfect when Maltese declared that the ending would have a bossanova flare, with the bass player getting to have a moment to shine within the show. Another wonderful performance came when Maltese brought The Army, The Navy back out to cover “Kiss Me,” giving the song a joyful and flirtatious tone as the two artists harmonized on the chorus and switched off on the verses. I was standing next to the cheering family of The Army, The Navy when they reappeared for a duet, and it was a wonderful energy to be close to during the song- especially with such a good cover like “Kiss Me.”
Crowd favorites of the night were “Curl Up and Die,” a slow and melancholic song that is the definition of a song that goes on any playlist curated for crying, and the mashup of “Madhouse” and “Jupiter,” the end of the former directly transitioning into the latter almost seamlessly to the loud delightful roars of the crowd.I would be remiss to not mention a crowd favorite and my favorite Matt Maltese song, “Rom Com Gone Wrong,” a song all about how romantic scenarios always seem to turn into something that you would see on a screen. I was singing just as loudly (if not louder) than the crowd, and I attribute my hoarse voice the next morning to that song.
To wrap up the main set, Maltese played his most infamous song, “As the World Caves In,” which was once rumored to be about a romantic relationship between Donald Trump and Theresa May (which has been said to be true on some articles, and some not– I just find the idea hilarious and worth mentioning), mashed up with another favorite- “Intolewd.” “As the World Caves In” is how most people probably found Maltese, as the song was trending on TikTok for quite some time, usually backing many sad and romantic edits of whatever fandom one was a part of in 2020 to2021. However, within the crowd, it was obvious that the TikTok famous song- while it might have drawn some fans like myself in- was not the only reason that the audience was there. The crowd was there for Maltese and his beautiful voice and artistry on the piano. His encore performances were “when you wash your hair” and “Everyone Adores You (at least I do),” the latter of which Sam was singing the whole BART ride home. I think Sam’s love of the last performance of the night really shows what’s so wonderful about Matt Maltese and his music- its capability to linger in your mind with its witty, charming, and sometimes devastating lyrics, mixed with a wonderful sound based on the classical piano as its core instrument. If you haven’t listened to Maltese’s music, you definitely should- there’s no better artist in my eyes to study with and enjoy with the company of friends.
Article and Photos by: Ashley Mauldin