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“This is my Boston song,” Clairo announced before strumming the first notes of “Alewife” during the Re:SET Concert Series on June 18.
Though Clairo hardly intended to reference The Stage at Suffolk Downs directly, it seemed a fitting way to inaugurate the new performance space. The Stage — created to revive the previously inactive 161-acre property — is not the first attempt at drawing talent to the racetrack, with a brief but illustrious performance history including names such as the Jackson 5 and Radiohead in its prime. The Re:SET Series was the first show to appear at the new stage and the sold out third day promised high stakes and a strong comeback for Suffolk Downs.
A Carlisle, Mass. native, Clairo gave a particularly sentimental performance on Sunday — especially when compared to the other performances of the tour. Clairo rounded out the three-day music festival with Bartees Strange and Dijon, opening for the highly anticipated all-female supergroup, boygenius. Despite being surrounded by other popular musicians, Clairo succeeded at sparking excitement for her return to perform in the renewed Boston venue.
Planes flew overhead early Sunday evening as Clairo sauntered to a piano and immediately began her set with “Bambi,” the first song from her sophomore studio album, “Sling.” A grainy grayscale projection revealed two strands of hair peeking out from either side of her smile, bobbing back and forth as she sang. Her entourage, which consisted of a flute, clarinet, alto and tenor saxophones, multiple guitars, keyboards, and a drum kit joined in as the song picked up in pace.
The visual transition to “Zinnias” was captivating: A brightly colored animation of a red flower appeared behind the band while amber light fixtures scattered across the stage mimicked fireflies. Clairo danced around the stage with her guitar, face half-hidden behind aviator sunglasses and a hoodie that kept the audience curiously attentive to her every movement.
In May, Clairo released the re-recordings of five of her songs at the iconic Electric Lady Studios in New York City, each containing heavier instrumentation and a sturdier sound in comparison to the airier original versions. The live interpretation of “Partridge,” “Amoeba,” and “Bags” most distinctly maintained the lively sound and instrumentation of this release and featured lush woodwind solos propelled by percussion and bass. These songs demonstrated excellent musicianship and chemistry within the band as each musician seamlessly passed along solos to one another, akin to a playful game of tag.
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The quieter songs within Clairo’s set felt deeply intimate through clever isolation of distinct and complementary musical voices. In “Blouse” and “Reaper,” Clairo grabbed an acoustic guitar and sang large portions of her song alone. Occasionally, the low cry of a clarinet chimed in with a counter melody or sustained notes which blended into her delicate voice. Clairo explored a very different approach during “Harbor,” a similarly mellow tune. Bubbles from an unidentified faraway bubble machine floated through the air as her voice gained depth with each verse. The rest of the instruments crept into the song, beginning with the saxophone. The collective sound gained weight as the drums and guitar became louder and driven, mirroring the growth to certainty and acceptance reflected within the song’s lyrics.
Clairo brought back the energy during her performance of “Softly” from her first album “Immunity.” Upon release, the debut album demonstrated Clairo’s musical maturation from earlier releases that shot her into fame, like the viral “4EVER.” In her performance of “Softly,” Clairo stood at a microphone with the look of an old-fashioned crooner – swaying from side to side with her arms behind her back. The crowd jumped in time with the tempo and hung onto every note.
Clairo finished with “Bags,” a wholesome expression of the different tensions and emotions that accompanied her first romantic experience with another girl. The song reigns as an unofficial lesbian anthem, and its importance to her LGBTQ+ fans was affirmed by a member of the crowd who screamed “Happy Pride Month!” after the first verse. The black-and-white projection of Clairo and her band bounced to display the crowd, dancing in time to the strum of her guitar. The song’s bridge, which repeats, “Know you’d make fun of me,” dropped to a quiet rumble as the drum slowed to half-tempo. The band maintained the volume during each repeated phrase, building tension before ultimately finishing the final chorus sforzando. The saxophone cut into an extravagant solo at the song’s finish — tying together the entire concert’s exciting involvement of multiple melodic voices.
Clairo’s Boston performance weaved tapestries of sound together to create freshly refined harmonies within her discography that was enjoyed by her fans, both old and new.
—Staff writer Gwendolyn M. Ibarra can be reached at gwendolyn.ibarra@thecrimson.com.
