Anaheim falls in love with Claire Cottrill
Review and Photo Gallery by Kobe Huynh
Claire Cottrill slowly walks onto the stage as the crowd is absolutely roaring her name. She smiles for just a moment and glances at the crowd. Before the crowd even gets the chance to settle, Clairo opens up with “Bambi” off of Sling.
It was surreal to see her perform Sling live, especially after a two-year break since Immunity. Sling brought out a part of Claire that wasn’t previously public to what the world knew of Claire Elizabeth Cottrill, but it’s clear to see that both she, and the crowd couldn’t be happier that she was here tonight. The crowd was in love with her, from the beginning of the set to the end. It was clear to see that Claire was having fun on stage, but you could see it in her eyes and in the way she imbued her work into the air. There was magic in the way she pressed her fingers on the keyboard and strummed the strings of her guitar. She knew exactly what she was doing and was unapologetically in love with it.
The crowd undeniably knew every song word for word, off of not just Sling, but even as far as Immunity and diary 001 goes, it was difficult to tell who were long-time fans or were just recently catching on to her. The crowd tagged along for the ride for “Amoeba,” “Zinnias,” and gave her the room she needed when she performed “Blouse.” The crowd not only loved her but respected her when she needed it most. There were friendly eyes throughout the venue, with roses for Claire midway through the show, and chants for Clairo out of pure love.
Each Clairo show is different in its own way, from diary 001 in 2018, Immunity in 2019, and the Sling tour in 2022, it’s evident beyond reasonable doubt that Claire has come a long way from being in front of a crowd. She has always been a natural on stage, giving love and ensuring that absolutely everyone has an amazing time at each of her shows. She never fails to have a good show, thanks to a plethora of reasons, a loving crowd, an outstanding band, but most importantly, her! I have never missed a Clairo tour in my life. I was there for diary 001 and I’ll be there for the next album she comes out with. Claire Cottrill never fails to put a smile on my face and I’m sure that it’ll stay that way for years to come.
At the end of the show, the band gave one big bow to say goodbye, goodbye to California, goodbye to this part of the North American tour, and hello to new (and old) faces in Arizona, Texas, Florida, and then Georgia for her last leg of the tour. There are more beautiful things to come from Claire Cottrill and I can’t help but feel like this is only the beginning.
