Live Review: CLAY Live at Mercury Lounge

For those who have read Meet Me in The Bathroom you’ve heard of the iconic and star producing venue, The Mercury Lounge. It’s fair to say the crowd did not lounge around for this show. From the moment CLAY came on they were attentive, and responsive to the melodic lyrics being sung.

One of the nicer aspects of playing at a venue like The Mercury Lounge is the intimate atmosphere. It is simply you, the artist and the guitarist, who in this case, was Balam Garcia. CLAY took full advantage of this. Coming off of a three city tour, with NYC being the last leg, she decided to do something different from the other shows. Joanna Teters, the shows opener teased this by saying CLAY’s show was “curated” and that she was “excited to be able to witness it.” CLAY took the stage around 10:30 p.m. she proclaimed they would be “starting from the top, going through the EP’s” which lead to a large round of applause.

As the first song “Blue” off of the Hues EP started to play the crowd began to sway as though the weight of the day had been lifted from their shoulders. Although this was a later show for a weekday, (9:00 p.m. – 11:35 p.m.) the energy that radiated from the crowd would have you think otherwise. Briefly forgetting about having to be at their nine to five, and fully present in the moment. The crowd, consisting mainly of millennials or older, did not disappoint in engaging with the artists. 

After the first song, CLAY announced that she normally reserved this next song for the finale, but would treat the audience, playing “Orange” early in the set, the second song from the Hues EP. “Orange” was released as a single in 2018, and is her most listened to on Spotify with over 14 million streams. While the song off of the EP is reminiscent of a Sylvan Esso-esque vibe, this was very stripped down. There was no synth, no flare, no frills and the crowd could not get enough of this rendition. 

CLAY asked the audience if they knew what the popular song was about, the crowd promptly responding with “Donald Trump!” To which she jokingly affirmed, “everytime I see the color orange I think of fucking Donald Trump.” With this being the most well known song of hers the crowd knew most of the words and sang along, making CLAY visibly blush. 

CLAY, who has been putting out music since 2016, gave off the vibe of an exuberant child in a school play throughout her performance, which included a lot of family and friends in the audience. She, more than once, mentioned that people she grew up with from San Francisco were present at the show. 

After “Orange” and some banter, she stated that she would play her “personal favorite song” next and started the third song of the set “Sponge.” She elaborated that the song is about the pain and beauty of being an empath, and feeling drained by the weight of the world. 

At this point CLAY had reached her fourth track “Breathing Into Bloom” off of the self titled EP Breathing into Bloom. The artist shared that the whole EP was about “a healing process that is not linear,” a common thread for a lot of artists. The fifth song in her set was “Artery.” She gave very little explanation behind the song, but brought the same energy she had throughout her performance. CLAY transitioned seamlessly and without missing a beat into “Undertow.”

Halfway through the set for her seventh and eighth songs CLAY invited Joanna Teters back onstage to join her for the next two songs. Joanna Teters, who has a sound reminiscent of an early Amy Winehouse, was ecstatic to be sharing the stage and playing together after over a decade. Shortly after Teters got on stage they went into “WTSGD” for her seventh song and “holy silence ‘fore the spring” off of the self titled holy silence ‘fore the spring EP for the eighth. Their voices were harmonizing and melodically blending into each other’s like a fine wine waiting to be uncorked and enjoyed by all. What was very exciting was CLAY teasing her new EP Waiting for Good in the Garden which will be released next year.

Throughout the show, CLAY’s bubbly and extremely relatable personality continued to shine. She shared the deeply personal meaning behind her ninth song, “Poison,” which she explained was about the voice in her head that “told [her] that [she] was never good enough.” As that song ended she next performed “Jamie.” Elaborating that this song meant a lot to her being part of the LGBTQ+ community and the importance of creating the family you choose instead of the one you’re born into. It was evident that she was truly touched by the song and the lyrics as she teared up during and after the song. The audience was very receptive of the raw emotion being shown.

As she led into the eleventh song “Letting you go” she sang with such power and emotional vulnerability that she brought audience members to tears. CLAY stated that the next song would be her last, the audience letting out an audible noise of disappointment. For the twelfth song of her set the San Francisco native played “no snow in san francisco.” CLAY’s attempt to leave the stage was immediately met with cries from the crowd of “one more song,” which she could not turn down. After a short break she returned, and ended the night with the thirteenth and final song “Ferris Wheel.”

If you missed this performance do not fret, she will be going on a full length tour in the future with a “higher production value.” As she mentions on her Instagram bio she is an “artist. writer. singer. advocate.” Her performance tonight proved all of these to be true, especially with 20% off online merch sales going to The Trans Lifeline nonprofit. 

Setlist

1. Hues
2. Orange
3. Sponge 
4. Breathing into bloom
5. Artery
6. Undertow
7. When the sun goes down
8. Holy silence ‘fore the spring
9. Poison
10. Jamie
11. Letting you go
12. No snow in San Francisco

Encore

1. Ferris wheel