Happy New Year! After a break for the holidays, Stereofade is back with another review. Check out our coverage of Alice Phoebe Lou’s opening set for Clairo’s concert in Toronto, written by Carla Haddad.
Opening for Clairo’s trilogy of Toronto shows wrapping up the Charm tour, Alice Phoebe Lou presented a gentle ushering in to the beloved indie darling. A match made in heaven, the singer-songwriter is the perfect choice to compliment the headliner. Throughout her set, she exclaimed in glee of the surrealism of the moment and feeling as though she were floating; this show was the end of an era.

With a set switching between an acoustic guitar and keys, Lou crafted an intimate scene beneath the rotunda of Toronto’s Massey Hall as the singular musician on the stage. Her prowess as a vocalist can only be described as an endearingly warm timbre with a shrill edge. Gripping confidence in imperfection, the shake of her high register moves with feeling through every measure. Melded with earnest lyricism and simplistic accompaniment, she invokes a sense of eras passed graced by folk giants with jazz changes holding each track’s foundation.

As an ode to said golden age of folk, Lou performed a stunning cover of Harvest Moon, an ode to Neil Young’s live album recorded under that same roof. Her set included melancholic gems such as Open my Door and fan favorite Witches. Her tracks drip with longing and romanticism, a perfect marriage of two ends of a similar spectrum.