Warped Tour this year was absolutely phenomenal-- the mix of artists was great, the weather was great, and I didn't get sunburnt. I could spend a week talking about everything I crammed into one day at punk rock summer camp, but I've condensed it down into one top ten list, for your reading pleasure.

 When I sat down to talk with Stalking Gia after her performance at Mercury Lounge on June 10th, I was not sure what to expect. She was a gorgeous singer with an epic voice, and I was still sweating from the M14 bus I had taken three hours ago to get to the show. I was worried that she would have an ego to match her talent—but I lucked out. Not only was Gia incredibly kind, but she was a wealth of musical knowledge and passion. In fact, the first thing she did when we sat down was gush about movie soundtracks.


                “I’m obsessed,” she cooed. Soundtracks, particularly Donny Darko and American Beauty, influenced her first album, which she admits took a long time to write. She spent two years in LA putting the album together.

                But after spending all that time in California, Gia has returned to New York and completed her third show in the city. Why did she leave LA?

                “I had to get out of there before San Andreas happened,” she joked. “That earthquake is way overdue I don’t want to be there when it happens.” More seriously, she notes, “there’s nothing like a New York show.”

                Her Mercury Lounge performance was number three in her triumphant return to the city, and she has evolved rapidly in her short time back on the East Coast. She has made drastic changes since her first show at Pianos, moving from long setlists with no drummer to shorter, more immersive shows with all live beats. She describes her end goal for live shows as “a reenactment of Snow White.” She believes shows need to be not just heard, but felt. In the studio, “it’s more electronic,” she says. But eventually she hopes “to hire a full band, an orchestra, and have a really epic, evolved sound.”

                We discuss what makes her music so transformative— “when you’re writing for publishers you have to have this word and this sound¸ they have to be in control… but I sneak in my own ideas.” She concludes, “people want authenticity.” And that’s exactly what she gives them.

Check out the full photo gallery here!

I keep formulating a way to describe the show, thinking I'll pull the classic "but the highlight of the night was..." but every time I think I've whittled the voluptuous, full figured show into a Vogue model, I throw down the chisel and send myself back to sketch again, because every moment hid a highlight.

Chantal commands a room with her theatrics and powerful voice, which culminate in a performance and sound that combines the best elements of the late Morningwood aesthetic, 60's girl groups, jazz, and just a dash of punk rock. A friend described it best- she didn't dance to the music, the music danced to her. In such an intimate setting (and by intimate I mean church-style basement with notoriously spotty acoustics) there's no room for error, and not a single one worked its way out of the cracks. Chantal's voice was powerful, her skits were on point, and her command of the room never wavered. She's not afraid to get weird, and her risks are rewarding for everyone involved.

Several new songs were on the set list, including one that has yet to debut in Claret's home of Los Angeles. She instructed us not to tell California that piece of information, but I'm pretty sure about two people read this blog, so the likelihood of this reaching the west coast is slim.

Claret also covered Andre Williams' "Jailbait," and her powerful voice was best on show here, where she managed to make spoken word more brassy and bold than ever thought possible.

The entire selection of music was superb, but favorites included my national anthem "Real Girls," call and response "Davy Crockett," and "Pleasure Seeker," for which she had the entire audience seated on the floor as she serenaded her father, a sweet touch to a powerful night.