Standing in front of 10,000 people, a sold out show at The Rady Shell, Clairo brought intimacy and grace to the stage with her third studio album titled “Charm.” Claire Cottrill “Clairo” is currently on tour, following two residencies debuting “Charm” in Los Angeles and New York.
Originally starting in the bedroom pop genre that launched her career to her recent third studio album containing jazzy rhythms and Carole King-like melodies, Cottrill has not conformed to one genre. Beginning music in her teenhood, fans of Cottrill have gotten a personal look into the evolution of her music and experience as a musician.
Cottrill wrote and produced “Charm” with Big Crown. The independent music label based out of Brooklyn, New York, is known for their niche group of musicians. Big Crown was established fairly recently by Leon Michels and Danny Akalepse in 2016.
Michels and Cottrill’s collaboration has set Cottrill up for an exciting few months, with a tour throughout Europe plus the Laneway Festival in Australia and New Zealand, beginning in February. Michels has worked with some big names in the industry such as his work on Lana Del Rey’s “Ultraviolence” and Travis Scott’s “Antidote,” but he typically works with indie artists. Cottrill said, in an interview with Apple Music, that she met Michels after admiring his work and realized they lived incredibly close to each other. The two began working on the album together at Allaire Studios in Upstate NY and flowed instantly.
In online statements, and even in the lyrics of her own songs, Cottrill has shared the difficulties of being a musician and the loneliness she has felt because of it. Cottrill has grown into her own voice, being incredibly open about her feelings in her music and perfectly articulating her thoughts in her lyrics and instrumentals.
After seeing Cottrill perform in San Diego and Los Angeles in June 2023 at the Reset festivals, it was hard to not notice the differences in her performance at the Rady Shell.
Cottrill made the stage her home; starting off the show she sat on the floor with her bandmates sipping on red wine out of tiny glasses. It’s obvious that she has found comfort in performance. She seemed incredibly present with her audience and band, yet her comfortability on stage makes you think she was alone in her living room. She swept across the stage with charm as she hummed, sang and danced alongside the downtown San Diego skyline.
Watching Cottrill in the crowd among all the other fans felt iconic in the way that my mom described seeing Stevie Nicks in concert for the first time. Cottrill’s performance between the windy harbor and illuminated downtown alongside 10,000 other fans, the largest crowd she’s ever headlined for, remained an intimate experience.
As soon as her performance began, we were in awe. Not just by Cottrill in her pretty baby-blue dress covered in ribbons that she so elegantly wore, but by the set of her stage. It felt as if those attending were transported back into the ’60s, with gold shimmery streamers hanging from the curtains that created the perfect backdrop for Cottrill and her band. The warm hues of orange lit up the stage and set the tone for the soft and peaceful performance Cottrill was about to give us.
Although we weren’t right in the front, squished together shoulder to shoulder with other fans, the large illuminated screens that were filming Cottrill were in perfect view from our spot. Their black and white imagery added to the ‘60s theme of the concert, which made it look like you were watching an old classic movie. We were glued to the screen for the majority of the show. It made us feel like we were only inches away from her performance.
This was not a mosh pit kind of concert. This was a sway back and forth singing softly to the lyrics kind of concert. That is Clairo; that is her artistic direction; and that is what we know and love as fans. She plays passionately for people that enjoy listening to her smooth and layered pieces.
She opened her set with the opening song from “Charm,” the soulful and slow “Nomad.” The song dives into the themes of solitude, loneliness and self-preservation. The melancholy song with soft instrumentals foreshadowed the rest of the concert. After “Nomad,” we were finally ready for the emotional rollercoaster we were about to embark on.
One of my favorites from “Charm” is Cottrill’s song “Thank You.” This track has a more upbeat rhythm to it, but like all of her songs on “Charm,” it carries a deeper meaning about self-discovery and wanting to be loved by someone who understands her. Cottrill’s lyrics hit close to home when she sang, “Sometimes I want somebody to see me / How you opened my doors and left them wide open / Why doesn’t this happen more naturally? / If I tried, maybe.”
Cottrill played some of her older songs, a few being “Flaming Hot Cheetos,” “How” and “4EVER.” She sang each song with new and fresh twists to make them sound different from what lives on Spotify. Nostalgia flowed through the crowd, as these were Cottrill’s hits we all recognized. I remember listening to “4EVER” for the first time in high school. I listened to it on repeat, and it was the track that sparked my hyperfixation with Cottrill. It was surreal to hear it live and pick up on how much her voice has matured and improved since she released the song back in 2018.
Another classic she played was “Bags” from her 2019 “Immunity” album. She brought out her electric guitar to take a break from the melancholiness and encouraged the crowd to dance while screaming out the chorus, “Walking out the door with your bags.” This induced the most movement from the crowd for the entire concert, and that isn’t a bad thing.
Her stage presence was so gentle and delicate throughout her performance. Her interactions with the audience and shy quirkiness is why we all adore Cottrill. She is real, authentic and she delivers her own unique voice to her relatable musicality.
We recognized the song as soon as we heard the piano intro and the “duh dummm” vocals and we had never been so excited to hear such a sad song live. Cottrill performed “Slow Dance” beautifully and with so much emotion.
Another sad song that has become a staple for fans of Cottrill’s is “Harbor” from her second studio album “Sling.” The crowd erupted in a groan as the song began, expectant of the tears and sadness that were to come through the performance. The sky lit up within the crowd instantly with bright iPhone flashlights, painting the dark sky, and illuminating Cottrill’s soft presence on stage.
She played her entire “Charm” album and a few others from past albums like “Bambi,” “Amoeba,” “North” and “Softly.” It was the perfect close to her show when she sang the last song of the night: “Juna.” This popular song has been a trending audio on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok since the release of “Charm.” Finally seeing her iconic mouth trumpet in person was so impressive, compared to just listening to the song on Spotify.
She performs with a certain type of honesty that many artists do not have. Her portrayal of herself through her music is a mirror to how she reflects herself on stage. It’s easy to admire her ability to show emotion in her performance much like how she shows her inner thoughts in her lyrics. She sings about situations, feelings and life scenarios that fans can relate to, creating a dynamic of closeness between Cottrill and her listeners.
