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On Monday, March 2nd, Conan Gray graced Austin with his presence and gave a stunning performance at the Moody Theater downtown. It was his second night of tour, and I am so excited for the rest of the world to see his performance!
The opener was German indie artist bülow, who I had never heard of, but am now obsessed with. She had a surprising range playing songs with heavy rock influences, some country influences, and a few acoustic songs. The theme of her songs were very similar to Conan in that they were all about the horrible experience that is falling in love, so I think she was a perfect opener. She ended her set with “You & Jennifer,” which has blown up on TikTok and set the stage for our king, Conan Gray. The only thing that bothered me was the crowd. They were not passing the vibe check! My friend and I were the only people dancing during her set, and nobody was paying attention. I get everyone wanted to see Conan, but bülow deserved a much better crowd than what we were giving.
Conan’s set started with the screen showing a crow locked in a cage as a low note played. As it got louder, the crow got more restless and at the climax, broke out of the cage. Where the crow flew off-screen, Conan appeared, and everyone went wild as he launched into “Wish You Were Sober.” From there the concert only got better. The stage visuals transformed throughout the set, and it was incredible. For “The Cut That Always Bleeds,” the stage opened up to reveal a bedroom which later in the show became a room with paper and writing all over the walls. As for Conan himself, he was an incredible performer joking with the crowd, telling stories, and genuinely having a good time with us. You could tell that Austin really means something to him and that he was glad to be back home. When he played “The Story,” he started to tear up, but the crowd was there to support him; it was a beautiful moment. He even sang Happy Birthday to a girl in the crowd, and the whole audience joined him. I want Conan to sing Happy Birthday to me. He ended with “Manic,” but of course, we weren’t going to let him leave without playing “Heather.” After chanting like crazy and losing my voice, he came but with “Heather,” which was performed beautifully to no one's surprise.
The concert was almost perfect, but he didn’t sing my favorite songs; “The King” and “Crush Culture”! I’ll forgive him for that since the concert was one of the most amazing experiences of my life. I’m also glad I was exposed to bülow; I’ve been listening to her nonstop ever since then. As always, it was a dream to see one of my favorite artists live, and I hope I’ll get to see him again!