Words by Kristine Pascaul
Photos by Zach Aquilevich
Located up in the mountains of Griffith Park, Clairo performed at the iconic Greek Theatre on her Los Angeles stop of the Sling Tour. Walking into the venue, I immediately see a long line of people waiting to purchase Clairo merch. I went with my friend Julia, who immediately pointed out that her favorite part of the night was seeing everyone’s outfits. She noted that she had never seen so many well-dressed people in one place. A staple amongst the Clairo fans seemed to be platform Doc Martens paired with an oversized blazer. These fans were stylish and most definitely took a lot of inspiration from Clairo’s personal style. One young fan even looked to be like Clairo herself, sporting a large checkered blazer along with the same haircut.
The opening act, Arlo Parks, was a pleasure to watch. I had never previously heard her music before that night, but her voice was so smooth and soothing to my ears. She had a great presence up on stage, dancing and encouraging the crowd to sing along with her.
Around 9pm, Clairo came out and the crowd was screaming with excitement. She was wearing her own merch, a shirt that read “Clairo Live at the Greek Theater” along with an oversized black blazer and some loafers. The fans in the crowd mirrored her look with the blazers and boots.
After performing a couple songs off “Sling,” I felt goosebumps running up and down my arms when she began to play “Bags.” This has always been my favorite song of hers and hearing her perform it live was unreal for me. That song has been with me for years, through different stages of my life and to hear Clairo sing it was really special. The band added a nice twist to the song by accompanying her with the saxophone and clarinet. The original song features acoustic guitar, but incorporating these instruments made the song a lot more like her current sound.
I think one of the standout songs of the night was “Zinnias.” Clairo was jamming out on her electric guitar with her band. Nearing the end of the song Clairo joined the lead guitarist and they played with each other and their energy was electric.
She also performed a couple songs off her first album, “Immunity.” The crowd went wild when she announced that she would be playing some songs off of it, as most people expected her to focus on “Sling” during this tour.
Mid-show, Clairo stood in front of the iconic red seats of the Greek and said, “Oh my god, this is fucking crazy.” She explained to us how her first time at the Greek had been the previous night watching Tom Misch. After a few deep breaths and some shared laughs with the crowd, Clairo continued on with the show. Another one of her best performances would have to be “Blouse.” She brought out Arlo Parks to come join her during the sad ballad. Fans all around the venue turned their phones’ flashlights on and waved them in solidarity with Clairo. If you don’t know what this track is about, it is a sad song about the sad reality of being sexualized in the music industry and her not being taken seriously because of it. After a moving performance with Arlo, Clairo shed a few tears and admitted that she was “so overwhelmed and grateful.” Together, Arlo and Clairo’s voices blended together angelically.
Toward the end of the night, she performed an unreleased song called “Nomad.” She admitted to not knowing of its release date or if she would even release it all, so LA fans were lucky to hear a potential unreleased Clairo song live.
Clairo is known to be a bit more on the introverted side of the spectrum, but I think she could have done a better job regarding stage presence. There is no denying that she is talented; she has a beautiful voice and can play many instruments. But I do think she could improve on her connections with the crowd. At some points, it did feel like she was just singing rather than holding that connection with her fans as artists typically do at concerts. That is what makes concerts fun for fans – making those connections with your favorite artist. Despite her lack of presence, she did bond well with her band throughout the set.
Her last two songs of the night were her most popular, “Pretty Girl” and “Sofia.” She danced a little bit across the stage- these were two of the few songs she performed that did not require her to play an instrument. She had the whole theater of fans singing along and dancing with her. I will admit that, although these are not my favorite songs of hers, they are certainly catchy. They’re the types of songs that everyone knows the lyrics to without even trying to remember them.
I think the best part of the concert would have to be the way she performed songs off her first album, “Immunity.” It’s originally more of an electro-pop album, but she and her band transformed it in a way to make it more instrumental and similar to the “Sling ” album. By the end of the night I was in love with the saxophone player. I think that, although everyone had a great performance, she specifically outshined everyone with the way she manipulated it and danced on stage. She was obviously very passionate and loved being up there and I especially enjoyed it, being an instrumental fan.
By the end of the night, Clairo and her band gathered together and took a final bow for the Los Angeles fans. Walking out of the concert, I heard fans raving about Clairo and how this concert would be tough to top. What made the night special was the love and appreciation the fans had for Clairo. I could tell it was a very special night for a lot of them, myself included.
