From the seats to the grass lawn, fans of indie-pop icon Conan Gray belted every word to hit songs like “Maniac” and “Memories” performed by the artist on Oct. 3 at Mountain View’s Shoreline Amphitheater.
Concert goers flooded the amphitheater Friday night ready to sing, dance and cry in the presence of the pop singer-songwriter. Gray has been a prominent artist in the Gen Z music scene for quite some time, writing songs and uploading covers to his Youtube channel since his early teen years in late 2017. Gray is also widely known for his vlog-styled Youtube videos filmed throughout his high school career and his short-lived time as a college student at UCLA in 2018. Gray, being no stranger to music and performing, shined bright on the Shoreline Amphitheater stage for the ‘Wishbone Pajama Show.’
After opener Hemlocke Springs warmed-up the crowd with her funky beats and bubbly sound, Gray took the stage at 9 p.m. sharp. Gray rode onto the amphitheater stage on a 1950s-esque red and white bicycle and opened the show with his song “My World.” Prior to the start of the show, a plastic baggy of orange-paper rectangles was passed among the seated section of the venue by fans. The papers had lyrics from the opening song reading “It’s my world and it’s my life,” printed on each, and in smaller text below read “hold on your flashlight during the first song.” The fan project aimed to give a sense of community and collaboration among the crowd with each attendee placing the orange paper over their phone flashlights to shower the venue in orange light during Gray’s opening.
Gray performed several songs from both his newest album “Wishbone” as well as songs from his earlier albums “Found Heaven” and “Kid Krow.” Gray also sported various outfits on stage throughout the show, from a sailor outfit composed of navy blues, linen whites and dark reds for a classic sailor look, to a bedazzled navy-blue train conductor get-up during the show’s encore. Fans kept with the show’s dress code as well, decked out in pajamas topped with sailor hats that followed the same dreamy color scheme as the “Wishbone” album cover. Gray’s stage set-up also reflected the album’s themes of dreams, childhood wonder and whimsy. Some songs even called for a bed surrounded by prop clouds to take center stage, accompanied by an airbushed sunset and landscape backdrop.
While songs ranged from heartfelt to bittersweet throughout the night, the crowd’s energy remained high and electric. Fans shed tears to songs like “The Cut that Always Bleeds” and TikTok-famous “Heather,” and belted lyrics through smiles during songs like “Wish You Were Sober” and “People Watching.”
At one point, Gray took crowd interaction to the next level. He selected one lucky fan from the audience, Monty aged 19, to pull apart a prop wishbone with him on stage. The rules were simple: if Monty broke off the long end of the wishbone, he could choose whether Gray performed his song “Care” or “The Exit” for the crowd. Monty successfully bagged the long end of the wishbone, and Gray gifted Monty and the audience with “Care” as both a reward for Monty’s wishbone-win and as a gift for the fan’s nineteenth birthday that night.
Gray’s encore song “Caramel” proved that Gray is not only a super-star performer, but a star with a fanbase that’s dedicated, passionate and here for the art that he continues to create. The love that was shown from Gray to the fans and vice versa was all any concert goer could “wish” for.
Photo by Daisy Sanchez