Shelly Stock / Entertainment Editor
Senior year is often full of firsts, but I never thought it would hold my first concert. On September 14, my friends and I travelled to Chicago for the third night of the Wishbone Pajama Show, Conan Gray’s current tour.
The show contained four acts, each named to fit the collection of songs. The first act, titled “a wishbone never breaks even,” had upbeat songs to open the show with a fun vibe. I really liked the way he chose to open with “My World,” it set the perfect atmosphere and got us hooked instantly.
The second act was titled “i got the short end of the stick” and had more mellow songs. This is where my friends and I all started to tear up, two of us shedding tears before the act finished. Personally, “The Cut That Always Bleeds” got me to cry, which I honestly didn’t expect. I knew I would cry, I just didn’t expect it to be that specific song.
The third act, titled “i took the long way to realization,” had an even mixture of upbeat and sad song. After the first two, Conan stopped and had a fan in the front help choose the surprise song. While she did get the short end of the wishbone, she got to choose anyway, seeing as it was her birthday! She chose “Sunset Tower” and I was so thrilled, seeing as it was one of the only songs on the album to not be included in the set list. After the surprise song came “Heather (Lost Verse Version)” and “Family Line.” Both final songs of the act had us crying again, but especially “Family Line.” The crowd clung to the song because of its heart-shattering lyrics, and it truly is impossible to hold back tears when about 10,000 people are all singing along and thinking of their own past or present pain. All of us were close to sobbing, and our videos of the song reflect it. Our voices were totally destroyed, but it was worth it for such a surreal moment.
The final act, “i wished for love and i found it,” was back to mellow, emotional songs. The iconic “Connell” crashout was so incredible to see live. Conan is genuinely as good of an actor as he is a musician. Finishing with “Caramel” was such a good decision, it’s one of my favorite songs on the album and is quickly becoming an all-time favorite.
Throughout the show, Conan had three separate outfit changes. The first was his sparkly, blue and white striped pajamas with his sailor hat. Eventually, the pajama shirt was discarded to reveal a form fitting white tank top. Both outfits were adorable, but something about the tank top was just so perfect. After the second outfit change, he came out in an all-white ensemble with a blue accented sash. The sash did malfunction at one point, leaving his blouse open, but it was laughed about during the song and quickly fixed. After another chunk of songs, Conan ran back off to change for the last time. He came back on stage in what can only be described as the most bedazzled, stunning, navy blue military-style uniform complete with shoulder pads, tassels, and a matching hat. There was a huge wishbone on the back made out of more rhinestones and a rhinestone anchor on the hat. Finding the words to describe the outfit was virtually impossible, it was so stunning and so unique. It was also just so sparkly and shiny that I will never ever get over it.
Overall, it was the craziest experience of my life. I managed to snag one of the wishbone tote bags, which did take visiting three different merch stands but oh well. It’s genuinely my newest prized possession, I don’t plan on carrying another bag ever again. It was such an emotional night, and it was the greatest experience I could ever ask for. I will never forget my first concert, or the “Memories” we made.
