Over the Moon for Clairo at Mission Ballroom

Photo: Anne Burn

Feminine was tried on tonight during Clairo’s sold out show at Mission Ballroom. Currently on tour for her third studio album Charm, her new sound on this album is heavily influenced by the cover of The Innovations “Seabird,” especially with the  track “Glory of the Snow.” “Glory…” is one of the first songs she made for this record, and it’s truly helped to shape her tone from “pretty girl bedroom pop” princess to “soft soul jazz” princess.

I discovered Charm while I was visiting LA, and listening to it from sunrise to sunset driving down Ventura highway with my childhood friend was a lovely way to dissect the record’s soft-hearted dichotomy. With lyrics like “I pull on the string that binds me to memories of how I loved you,” to “I see kismet sinking in, it’s second nature,” Charm reveals the new level of maturity she’s reached as an artist.

Clairo’s wearable iconography for this tour is ribbon. As our fearless ribbon cult leader, ribbons have been a constant motif in Clairo’s lyricism and aesthetic. During her Denver show she wore a yellow and gray flower ribbon that simply added to her delicate femme personification.

For this tour, Clairo does an opening act of communion (of sorts) with her band before they play. They congregate together while Clairo serves them whiskey and cheers before they go on, in such a lovely display of tender camaraderie.

This show could best be described as melodic chaos. Her band played in a manner that flowed in such an intimate manner it made me feel as though they were at a jam session, rather than the curated sound heard on the record. Many fainting beauties were at the show, causing the action to stop around 7 times. It even got to the point where Clairo had to take five for oxygen before coming back out. My lovely friend even passed out but some lovely girls caught her and held her hair back for her as they fanned her down in a true moment of girlhood. She held my hand throughout  the show making me feel so safe in such an overcrowded space.

One of the most charming moments of the night was watching Clairo flirt vivaciously with an actual stink bug and shutting down hecklers left and right like the gentle femme fatale she is. She even scooted back for the bug. She let the crowd name him, which ended up being Jerry.  She moved herself back while singing  so she wouldn’t squish it, but alas Jerry disappeared into the night.

Clairo ended the night with Juna – hearing her live mimic trumpet noises and sing was utterly angelic. Being around the same age as Clairo and watching her grow and change with age the same way I have and celebrate her femininity has been such a lovely reflection. She highlights universal feelings of wistfulness while being earnest about it. This performance of Charm highlighted the interplay between desire and being desired, leaving the crowd utterly charmed and enamored by Claire Cotrill.