Half & Half Reviews: Tressa and Alyssa go to see Clairo
The milk and cream for your concert review coffee!
In this segment, we have a conversation that breaks down the most important parts of the concert and have a discussion.
Voice
Alyssa: Her voice floored me. She sounded better live than she does on recordings, and I think that’s really rare to find in an artist these days. She has a beautiful tone that sounds effortless and genuine.
Tressa: Yeah it was so steady and almost had a raspy undertone, I thought she was kind of quiet sometimes though.
A: Her volume reflected the mood of the songs and the emotions that she was trying to convey when she was performing!
T: That’s true. I wouldn’t really think that a lot of the songs would require a “loud” voice anyhow and if the tone was too powerful it wouldn’t really fit the mood of the show. So that’s a very valid point.
Stage Presence
A: I think she had a wonderful stage presence, you can really tell that she has an emotional connection to the songs. When she was performing Bubble Gum, she started to cry which isn’t really something you see a lot of from an artist at a concert. It made her seem super relatable and I feel like I connected with her more than I usually would.
T: She was definitely very genuine and seemed to be acting 'herself' on stage. I did feel like she looked down a lot, which was a bit distracting at first. I think eventually I got over it though, not really sure why or how- I don’t think she really made more eye contact? But maybe the fact that she took breaks and made comments to the crowd minimized the disconnect I was feeling from her constantly looking down? However, I do think that although looking down is usually negative when performing, it was just true to who she is.
A: On the topic of being true to who she was, she came out with her hair in a bun and was wearing a baggy sweatshirt. I also noticed that she put the hood up at some points during the show, it was so sweet! I suspect that it’s the sort of thing that she wears day-to-day. Celebrities...they’re just like us!
T: At first I was maybe a bit put off by her outfit choice? Mainly because the pictures I’ve seen of her on album covers and across the internet, show her wearing somewhat frilly pastel t-shirts and scrunchies on her wrist? Is she a ‘vsco girl’? I don’t know. This wasn’t really in line with my expectations around what I expected her to look like on stage. However, I thought it was really refreshing because a lot of young girls look up to her and it’s important in terms of emphasizing that she’s truly just talented and doesn’t need all the bells and whistles in order to be recognized. I think a lot of young girls look up to celebrities, for example maybe like Ariana Grande, and the way they dress and convey themselves can really have an influence on younger generations. So, I think seeing Clairo dressed this way was super nice because it shows girls they don’t need to dress themselves up in order to be recognized for their talents.
A: Agreed! I think the more “done up” persona was more for advertising and her own style is just super chill. Her Insta is more reflective of her casual aesthetic.
Backdrop/visuals
T: The visuals here were super fun and I thoroughly enjoyed looking at them throughout the show. I think they were also super fitting. The semicircle display in the center of the stage was the perfect amount of space to be taken up by visuals in my opinion. It was super fun to look up at the stage and wonder why I was looking at horses running on a plain, or a close up of some purple flower I don’t know the name of? But again, super fitting.
A: I totally agree, less was definitely more in this case. The semi-circle with the shifting images was completely reflective of the chill vibe of the show. It didn’t distract me from the performance, but rather, added something that was special and unique about it. I think it speaks to the way that the show was effortlessly cool. And it also made me laugh!
T: Yes, definitely made me laugh too! I think in some recordings I took you can full-on hear both of us cracking up in the back like “what are we looking at right now?!”, but in a good way. On the encore when she played ‘Pretty Girl’, the visuals there were to die for. What was it? A video of her with earbuds in singing pretty girl on Photo Booth, and just being super silly with it. Amazing.
A: YES! We were both laughing so hard and it was a great way to end the show.
Overall Experience
T: I was super happy with this concert. I think the things that made it was genuinely how talented she is, her voice is just so settling in a way. I think this in combination with her humbleness and how she was really made me come to appreciate the entire concert as a whole. As a bonus, I think the crowd she attracted for this show probably also really valued these things, as most people in the crowd were just super attentive to the performance and weren’t really goofing off in any way. Sometimes the crowd can make it or break it.10/10.
A: Going into this concert, I only knew about half of the songs so I wasn’t really knowing what to expect! I was so pleasantly surprised by what we saw. Like I said earlier, her voice was stunning and you can tell from the way she performs that there is so much genuine emotion behind her songs. As you said, Tressa, she held the crowd in the palm of her hand the entire time. Someone had even brought white flags and handed them out amongst the attendees, and when Clairo went to sing White Flag, everyone held them up and started waving them. She exclaimed “Oh my god guys, where did you get those? I am going to cry!” Then she picked one up from the stage that someone had tossed to her and held it close to her heart before setting it down. It was such a pure interaction between her and the fans. I walked out of the concert feeling so fulfilled! And since then, I honestly haven’t stopped listening to Clairo. 10/10.