Chloe Moriondo Charms Toronto Opening for Waterparks on Their 'Prowler Tour'

When you go to a show, what are you looking for? Do you wanna dance? Maybe you’re feeling a little more risky, and you’re looking for a kiss. Perhaps you’re looking to spin yourself all around, whether that be while dancing or moshing, and fall into the abyss of live music.

An artist who resonates with all of these feelings and sings about them proudly on her track ‘abyss’, is Chloe Moriondo. Earlier this year, the pop star released her fourth studio album, oyster, which was a beautiful encapsulation of all of Moriondo’s genres, as if the artist threw all her projects into an oyster shell, waiting for it to produce a stunning pearl. Following the release, Moriondo took to the road, completing both a North American and European headlining tour, bringing oyster to life with a stage show that came straight from the bottom of the sea.

On Sunday, November 23rd, Chloe Moriondo took the stage at Toronto's History, opening for a band that seems to share her love for aquatic theming, Waterparks, on their Prowler Tour.

Before you even made it into the venue, a couple of Moriondo’s merch pieces could be seen as you walked up and down the ever-growing line. It was heartwarming to see her fans coming out to support, ensuring they were lined up early to catch a good view. For a while, I was expecting myself, my close friends, and three of my online mutuals to be the only people in that venue who’d be giving their all for Moriondo’s set, but I was overjoyed to be proved wrong. It has always been a struggle to be the opener, as plenty of fans see you as a barrier, something preventing them from seeing the main act. It is even harder to be a femme opener, especially when you’re playing to a scene that differs from your main genre. While Waterparks fans have always tended to uplift the openers more than any fandom I’ve seen, there will always be a few bad apples. So it was reassuring to know Moriondo had fans scattered throughout the crowd, meaning all she had to do was win over the hearts of everyone else.

From the second Moriondo leapt onto the stage, accompanied by her drummer, Fiona Stocks-Lyons, and bassist/synth player, Harlee Torres, you could instantly tell it was going to be a good night. Moriondo was adorned in a patterned and white pink swimsuit set, complete with floaties and a pair of goggles, making a joke later on in the night about her being misled about what type of ‘Waterpark’ she was going to.

‘abyss’ served as the opening track of the night, inviting fans into Moriondo’s ocean bubble. The glittery dance track served as a smooth transition from Jhariah’s sheer powerhouse of a set into an atmosphere that felt more dazzling, yet equally as passionate. ‘abyss’ established Moriondo’s stage presence quickly, highlighting her theatrical behaviours, love for dance, and overall engagement with the crowd. Throughout her set, she was consistently dashing across each end of the stage, jumping up on the risers to strike a few poses, or crouching down to have these sweet, intimate moments with those at the barricade.

‘Celebrity’ was next up, one of the four SUCKERPUNCH tracks to make it onto the setlist. Something that makes ‘Celebrity’ an extraordinarily fun live track is the little crowd moments that happen throughout. Within the second chorus, and then again during the songs fade out, the crowd has created this makeshift tradition of shouting “Why? Chloe, why are you like this? / How did you get so big, so famous? / How'd you break away from the heinous plainness? /Where you're moving, baby's gonna end up A-list" as if we’re the one’s speaking directly to Moriondo herself. While I’ve heard a sold-out venue do this with utmost vigour, this time around, there were only a few voices circulating, but that was enough to put a smile on Moriondo’s face, especially as the track came to a close.

For this tour, Waterparks divided their setlist into different emotions, making them each an act in the show. To stay in line with this, I’ll do the same for the next portion of Moriondo’s set. After ‘Celebrity’ came what I would call the “Anger Portion” of the night. Starting with ‘Bodybag’, where we saw Moriondo pull out her first instrument of the night, a bass, the crowd got to experience a track about the trials and tribulations of being in love with someone. More specifically, when you can’t decide if you’re so in love with this person that you want them in your bed, or if you hate their guts so much that you’d rather put them in a body bag.

Keeping up with the morbid theming, we have ‘hate it’, a track that I’m sure you’ll positively love. It’s easy to get lost in the bubbling synths of ‘hate it’, with Moriondo’s vocals flowing so sweetly, it’s like a siren's song, but when you read into the lyrics, the nature of the track starts to unravel, possibly leaving you queasy from anxiety. There’s something so charming about the way Moriondo sings about wanting to wear this person's skin, trade bodies with them, make them hurt, and I’m almost inclined to let her do it to me. I adore the repetition of the obsessive “But I can’t let you go” that the fans started to pick up and sing along to, as well as multiple people raising their arms in faux arrest (Think DJO Juno style) for the lyrics “my hands are tiеd”.

Next come the sister songs, ‘I Eat Boys’ and ‘Hell Hounds’. The Jenneifer’s Body-inspired track ‘I Eat Boys’ anchored Moriondo to centre stage underneath the spotlight, where we got introduced to her second instrument of the night, a sticker-covered acoustic guitar. Again, see this as the duality of a soft, sweet, and calm instrumental paired with unsettling lyrics. It’s almost as if Moriondo is playing coy when she sings gruesome lyrics such as “I'll eat you whole, Pull out your teeth and take your soul, Stir some blood into the punch bowl”, hiding her malice behind an almost giggly voice.

While ‘I Eat Boys’ naturally slowed the set down, ‘Hell Hounds’ brought the energy level back up. Introducing this track, Moriondo explained how ‘Hell Hounds’ is an expansion of ‘I Eat Boys’, where we see a plethora of lyric parallels and theming. She also invited the crowd to bark along with the chorus, a little aspect about the song that seemed so fitting, considering this is the Prowler Tour after all. This was the highest energy point of the night, where you could really tell Moriondo cracked the crowd. Funny enough, a few days before this show, I saw a couple of Waterparks fans tweeting out the vicious lyrics to ‘Hell Hounds’, specifically the “You’re tall but in my boots I’m taller!” line, emphasizing the track's impact on the Waterparks fanbase.

When talking about matching energy, ‘Plastic Purse’ is the perfect song to follow ‘Hell Hounds’, as both of them share similar production, both leaning into the hyperpop realm. Having been freed from her guitar during ‘Hell Hounds’, Moriondo took the opportunity to bring back her animated enthusiasm, shouting her lyrics into the crowd and bouncing back and forth across the stage, taking up as much space as possible. This, of course, is the only possible way ‘Plastic Purse’ should ever be sung, especially with the dominant power layered within the lyrics. Personally, this was my favourite performance of the night, as nothing can ever top ‘Plastic Purse’ live for me. If I had to pick a critique, I would need more Waterparks fans to learn the second chorus immediately! I want to hear the whole venue screaming along!

If you’ve ever seen Moriondo on a headline tour, she often slips a cover into her setlist. Earlier this year, on the oyster Tour, it was Mitski’s ‘Liquid Smooth’. For the Prowler Tour, Moriondo brought back an older cover of hers, one we haven’t seen since the SUCKERPUNCH Tour in 2022. If you’re a fan, I think you’ve figured it out by now, but for those who aren’t as tuned in, Moriondo performed the iconic Lady Gaga track ‘Paparazzi’. I’ve always considered ‘Paparazzi’ to be the spiritual predecessor to ‘Celebrity’. I can’t quite describe it, but they’re estranged cousins to me.

Bringing a cover on tour is something I haven't seen an opening artist do in ages, as it's usually reserved for those who have a small discography. That being said, when you’re trying to have at least one song that will get everyone singing along, a cover is a perfect way to do that. Moriondo had everyone from the pit to the mezzanine joined in tune, if not during the verse, then during the chorus. If you’re wondering, yes, Moriondo does absolutely have the flair to be performing such a classic pop song, and if you don’t believe me, you’ll just need to go see her set for yourself!

By this point in the night, we’ve long left the anger section of the setlist behind, with Moriondo mellowing out the energy wth ‘Cdbaby<3’. Now, this was a song I was thoroughly shocked to see made the setlist cut, and I wasn’t the only one with this thought, either, with my friend whipping their head around so fast towards me to geek out about its inclusion for just a few seconds before fully locking into the track. ‘Cdbaby<3’ in Waterparks terms is Moriondo’s ‘The Secret Life Of Me’. The song has these dreamy synths and lighter vocals that lack any sharp edge, acting as a nice little break in the setlist, allowing everyone to get a little break before the finale of the show.

With three songs left, Moriondo brought out ‘Girls With Gills’, a song that's fresh to her discography, being a little teaser to her oyster deluxe album that is coming out on December 5th. Before we slid into the song, Moriondo asked everyone to dance a little, maybe even a frat flick, whatever worked for them. Well, the crowd heard ‘frat flick’ and ran with it, with the entire crowd raising one of their hands to match the beat. This movement was fitting as well, with ‘Girls With Gills’ focusing on this salty underwater club, one where the cover is free. Maybe in Moriondo’s world, the frat flick could be called a ‘fin flick’, just to match the mermaid theming. Just a thought.

Keeping up with the under-the-sea theming, Moriondo's penultimate song of the night was 'oyster'. Being the title track of her fourth album, you could already begin to suspect that this song is a little special. The ambient pop song is exactly what you'd imagine a sea creature listening to on a day-to-day basis, going triple platinum on everyone's cell phones. 'oyster' is the only song that rivals 'Plastic Purse' for being my favourite to hear live. Its production, which teeters between being carefully intimate and bubbling over with dance-based synths and drums, helps to tell a story on stage, one that makes Moriondo's performance of the track captivating. There's no question why 'oyster' is on the back half of the setlist; she's made to be memorable, like a sand dollar or pearl you're taking home as a trinket, a memory from such an incredible night.

To close out the set, Moriondo of course played her most popular and iconic song, ‘I Want To Be With You.’ Moriondo took a second before singing to ask the crowd who was queer, which was at least half of the crowd, before going on to talk about how it’s important that we can have spaces like this where everyone, regardless of their identity, can just exist for a minute and have fun without fear. ‘I Want To Be With You’ has been dubbed this queer anthem, with the community resonating with it deeply, often applying the soft love song to their own relationships.

Moriondo, who had now picked up a bubble gum pink electric guitar, her final instrument of the night, took centre stage, a spotlight shining down. Almost immediately, the crowd had their phones high in the air, everyone swiftly recognizing the song and wanting to hold onto this moment for eternity. This was the first time in the night (apart from ‘Paparazzi’), I could hear a good chunk of sing-song voices come from the crowd, especially during the chorus. With everyone joined together, this seemed like the perfect way to end the night. As the final few chords rang out, Moriondo took the time to wish us all goodbye before hurrying off the stage, leaving everyone in both awe and anticipation for the rest of the night.