Bishop Briggs w/ Matt Maeson
Showbox, Seattle, WA
04.28.18
No stranger to selling out shows in Seattle, Bishop Briggs returned to The Showbox for the release of her debut album, Church of Scars. The performance was one that truly set itself apart, despite the artist’s recurring popularity.
Matt Maeson came through first with some raw acoustic tracks. With his Barns Courtney-like voice, indie-folk vibe, and James Bay-like musicality, Maeson brought it all to the table. An incredible performer, his beautiful voice hit somewhere deep, creating a set that was captivating even among excitement for the headliner.
When Briggs finally came on, everything just felt right. She’s been playing most of the songs off her new album live for some time now, so while the crowd may not have known every word, they definitely weren’t surprises.
She opened with “White Flag,” showing off her dark but energetic performance style, hyping up the crowd right away, and setting the tone for the night. Next, “Wild Horses” gave the crowd a taste of familiarity to bounce along happily to.
While her performance quality maintained the excellence of her previous sets here, one thing that has very noticeably changed is how comfortable she was on stage. At Summer Camp 2016, Briggs played early in the day and had an incredible set for such a new name, but was pretty reserved between songs.
Two years later, she’s clearly loosened up a lot, making it really easy for the crowd to connect with her. During breaks, Briggs talked about her album, Fifty Shades of Grey, and the way our world is today, giving fans the chance to know more about her. This lighter, bubbly version of Briggs was clearly evident in her music and general performance.
Briggs closed with “River,” topping the night off with the track that skyrocketed her to the top. It reminded people of why they fell in love with her in the first place. With a killer debut album and an insane show from one of Seattle’s favorite artists right now, Briggs is definitely going to have a pretty packed crowd at Bumbershoot in a few months.
Review and photos by Lulu Dawson
Bishop Briggs
Matt Maeson
