Clairo Charms and Enchants Crowd at Eventim Apollo in London
From bedroom-pop to jazz -adjacent soft rock, Clairo has had indie fans in the palm of her hand since the very start of her career.
With three albums under her belt, a slew of features on songs by the likes of Wallows and Beabadoobee, four headlining tours (including the current one) and numerous festival slots, she has been busy making her mark in the industry. And yet, she has always been completely in her own lane, never attempting to compete with the mainstream. Her sound has developed and changed, not to keep up with trends, but evolving her unique talents as an artist. You can see that she is someone who just loves the process of recording and creating, and the outcome is always exceptional.
Showcasing her 70s influenced third studio album, Charm, to audiences across North America and Europe, she has been on the aptly named Charm Tour since September 2024, including two sold-out stops in London last week. While some may have their gripes with her choice of moody lighting, occasionally making it hard to see her onstage, many have walked away with rave reviews of the chilled yet musically impressive performance by her and her touring band. As a fan since 2019, I couldn’t wait to attend a show and see (or not see) for myself.
Turning up to Eventim Apollo on Friday 14th March, I had the immediate sense that I was in good company. Wearing my slightly oversized brown faux-leather jacket, which is cuffed at the bottom, I fitted in perfectly as everyone else had seemingly made the same fashion choice. If it wasn’t leather jackets, it was lacy blouses and long flowing skirts or some even dressing in paper bags, in reference to her song Bags. The crowd had come dressed in their Clario-themed fits, ready to be charmed.
Opening the show was folk singer June McDoom, whose dreamy vocals filled the room. With only herself and two band members onstage, she still managed to command the full attention of the room. After stopping mid song to check on fans, she was ready to skip ahead to the next song. This did not go down well with the audience however, whose disappointed ‘awws’ encouraged them to continue with the song where they left off. It was a true testament to how much the audience was enjoying their set, not wanting to miss a second.
Minutes before Clairo was due to take the stage, an announcement interrupted the pre-show playlist, letting us know she’d asked for no flash photography during the performance. For a minute, I think many of us held our breath, worrying that it may be cancelled. Knowing that wasn’t the case, relief rushed over the room and the excitement grew exponentially.
As the lights went down, it was time for the magic to begin. In totally nonchalant Clairo fashion, she strolled onto stage with her band to the sound of After Laughter by Wendy Rene, sitting with them for the duration for the song and drinking a glass of what appeared to be wine, before beginning the show. The stage design itself is reminiscent of a 70s lounge or studio with its romantic lighting and a curved glimmering backdrop. Combined with her laidback entrance, it creates an intimate and homely atmosphere, helping her fans feel close to her. Another memorable feature of the design is the vast circular light that hangs above the stage. Sometimes the light stays off, keeping Clairo and the band in partial darkness, and other times it lights up during choruses or slowly lowers down to spotlight the singer. In any case, a feeling of both elegance and warmth is achieved, echoing the feeling of her latest album.
Kicking off the set was Nomad, the second single from Charm and a song wherein the narrator chooses loneliness over love that could wind up in heartache. Despite the emotional theme, the soft-rock beat and catchy chorus had everyone beaming while singing along. This continued well into the next song, Second Nature, which takes a more positive and stance on love and that feeling of meant to be. She followed it up with Thank You, which reflects on a previous love, expressing gratitude for it. In just the first three songs of the show, she’d already told us a love story and injected a burst of energy in the form of head bopping and toe-tapping.
Despite being the Charm tour and playing every song from the album, she still found space in the setlist for a few Clairo classics and deep cuts. Her debut album, Immunity, is one of her most popular works, housing the iconic bedroom-pop song, Bags. First up from that album, however, was Softly, a song that confesses having feelings for a girl with Clairo singing it effortlessly, as if she’d sung it 100 times before (she has). The subsequent song was another frequently played track, Flaming Hot Cheetos, which has made it onto every tour setlist. Contrastingly, she added How to this tours setlist, a track that remained unplayed since 2018. As a song, it has never been fully fleshed out, appearing as a demo track on her debut EP diary 001. Despite this, its inclusion on this tour acted as a marker for how much her sound has matured. Plus, it gave the hardcore fans a chance to gloat a little for knowing all the words.
Due to checking on members in the audience calling for help, she had to restart Add Up My Love, one of the more energetic tracks on Charm, made evident by the audience’s switch from gentle swaying to lively dancing. Later in the show she also restarted 4EVER but before she did, the crowd took over where she’d left off, singing the rest of the verse and chorus in perfect unison, putting a smile on her face, seemingly impressing her with their deep knowledge of her early work.
Only three songs from her sophomore album, Sling, were played at this show. Though she had previously been playing Harbor on some select shows, it didn’t make the cut for London. Nevertheless, we were graced with Bambi, slowing things down earlier in the set and later, Partridge and Amoeba. The latter song is one of the more popular Sling tracks reflected by the electric feeling that zipped through the audience.
On her first night in London, she’d surprised the crowd with her first live performance of Steeeam, a song released back in 2020 under Shelly, the project Clairo is a part of alongside her friends Claud, Josh Mehling, and Noa Frances Getzug. Many were hoping she’d treat the second London crowd to the same song and play it once again. After wrapping up Amoeba, the band played a familiar intro. ‘You know what song this is?’, she asked, as they launched into the second ever live performance of Steeeam, prompting excited cheers and exclamations of ‘OMG’ across the room.
The last run of songs on the set were perfectly placed, all matching each other’s energy, whilst keeping to the standard practice of putting the most popular songs last. Going from the bedroom pop vibes of Bags, to the playful soft rock of Sexy to Someone, to the groovy and jazz-adjacent Juna, it was an endless stream of joyful beats that the crowd could dance along to. She even replicated her iconic mouth trumpet sound featured on the second half of Juna, creating magic with her own voice.
Closing the set was her sapphic love song Sofia. Originally not featured on the setlist for the North American tour, it had snuck its way into a few festival shows in Australia, much to the fans’ delight. Clearly the positive reaction prompted her to add it as a permanent fixture on the European setlist and it was welcomed with open arms by this crowd who sung it back to her, much louder than for any others.
Clairo will be wrapping up the Charm Tour very soon, with the last show to take place on March 20th in Manchester. Never fear, because if you missed the tour, you can still catch the singer at numerous festivals including Coachella in the US and Primavera Sound in Spain, as well as returning to London to support Sabrina Carpenter at her huge outdoor Hyde Park shows.
