St. Vincent

OK.....the show.

Let me first start of by saying that St. Vincent only recently came into my life. Their music gripped me in a way very few bands do, in a good way I mean. Lyrically, I love the balance of unapologetic frankness mixed with an almost confession-like tone…..aurally, they range from towering sonic superstructures, to well-wrangled discordant chaos (often alongside one another)…. I dig the sounds of St. Vincent. They're like a new toy that I want to take apart to see how it works......

I hear a familiar "spice" echoing throughout the album....something from my youth. Something like the obstinate, candid, brilliant textures of the music scene in north Texas in the late 90's early thousies…..it's great. Getting producer John Congleton (frontman, composer, and producer of my favorite band of all time, for all time, The PaperChase) was a brilliant move.

ok….NOW…….the show…..

I was really looking forward to this show. After watching the live stuff from the festivals and radio appearances on youtube, I wasn't expecting anything more than for them to show up with their instruments and their musicianship. I was kinda hoping that they would have some visual fun to go along with the aural experience, but I would have been happy with just a black curtain and three (four?) people on their instruments, rockin' out. That's what I was expecting.

However (respectfully)……what I GOT….. was Annie…….alone…..all alone on the stage……playing with/to backing tracks. True, it was super foxy, red vinyl thonged, Annie, accompanied (as always) by her great voice and that rad crunchy guitar playing……but as wonderful as all of those things were (are)….I went there to see a SHOW, to FEEL the music played by PEOPLE….not to watch Annie sing St. Vincent Karaoke. My wife and I left halfway into the fourth song.

The stage show felt "phoned in". Almost like somone said "meh, just put her up on the stage and play the songs on the iPod and that'll be good enough". I don't know what happened that led to the decision to make the show just Annie by herself, but I hope it's a one-off kind of thing and the band will join for future performances.

Simply put, for live shows, Annie alone is not enough. Live vox and guitar aside, the show basically consisted of listening to the album with a whole bunch of strangers crowded around a stage…. if I wanted to listen to the album, I'd listen in my car….like I do…..all the time.

I was not satisfied. However, i will still be following St. Vincent because I like the music. I am open to and interested in seeing them live again, but only if they put together a real live show…..or simply bring a band.

best,
Cameron

It only bears repeating that Annie Clark aka St. Vincent is a mad genius. There could be an argument to say she should stick to the guitars and singing rather than the hair-dyeing and choreography antics, however this would be doing all of those aspects a disservice along with her majestic and powerful live performances. As a brief history, St. Vincent is Texas born and was in the Polyphonic Spree. Her albums have gone from a sprawling debut with beautiful flourishes reminiscent of Grizzly Bear to more robust David Byrne/Bowie influenced pop, though retaining some of that beauty. Translated live this can all make Annie look like a vulnerable outcast who has committed herself to mastering the guitar, singing and song construction. While the between-song banter is funny in an awkward way and the general band choreography is also not entirely convincing, it is when she sings atop a podium on the stage that Annie’s vulnerability becomes the look of a dominant musical artist. During ‘I Prefer Your Love’ (not on the podium) and ‘Prince Johnny’ and ‘Cheerleader’ (on the podium), St Vincent put on a powerful show that seemed like it could be put on for thousands upon thousands rather than the hundreds at the venue I was at in Cambridge (UK).
When she came down from the podium it seemed as though the sound and fuzz cranked up another level and the other members of her band played even harder. It also seemed timeless and I believe has a future right on top of the music world, dominating the airwaves and touring tirelessly to convince everyone of her genius.

I first saw St. Vincent after her 3rd Album, Strange Mercy was released. I was in the midst of a 2 year love for her music which has seen her become one of my most-listened to artists. This is what the music I would like to be able to write would sound like.

I was excited for the performance, to see her 'in the flesh' and to finally see all those songs I'd got hooked on played live. Unfortunately it was right time, wrong place. The gig at Queen Elizabeth's Hall in London was seated which did nothing to stop Annie Clark giving us all she had but it made the audience feel stilted and awkward which put a bit of a dampener on her performance.

A couple of days later I saw her play again (yes, I'm one of 'those' fans) in Bristol. This was more like it. I was up-front and close to the action and she didn't disappoint by injecting new life into old songs and roaring through the new ones, culminating in her jumping on top of my head during a stage dive. I was gleeful.

Since then, I have had the pleasure of seeing her twice more and she has only progressed as a performer. After her collaboration with David Byrne and the subsequent tour that followed, she's out on The Digital Witness tour and has sewn some of Byrne's influence in; there's dance moves, there's Lorrie Moore inspired story telling, there's a big pink pyramid that she performs on. I can't get enough; I'll have seen this same tour 3 times before it ends and would never miss an opportunity to see her play. She's extraordinary.

I was at the St Vincent concert in Shepherd's Bush in February 2012 and I remember a night that was so punk rock and amazingly fun and awesome that I was converted into an instant fan. I went to that concert not knowing much about her music-- but was thoroughly impressed.

This time, I came knowing all the lyrics and well aware of the new persona that she had adopted. The major difference last night was how different she looked and a lot of the times the stage act felt really avant-garde (more performance art than punk rock) It can get a little strange at times, as she writhed on the floor and ad-libbed "sermons" as crowd banter.

HOWEVER, one constant is that she remains an incredible guitarist. She shreds on that electric guitar and this time, it's double the intensity. Immensely talented and straddling the line between eccentric and angelic, the guitar rifts showcases St Vincent's unique sound and with a setlist of more than 17 songs, the crowd was treated to a 2-hour strong show that ended just before curfew at 11pm. I overheard someone on the elevator on the way back home in Chalk Farm station saying "I didn't know what to expect.

I thought it was going to be Lady Gaga" Lady, I think St Vincent is more Bowie than Gaga; but really, she's a class act in a league all of her own.

The show started off with a disturbing video about a dead dad who ends up in a panda suit at his daughter's birthday party. The video was created by St. Vincent, and it wasn't good. The actual show featured mostly recorded music with St. Vincent standing still on stage wearing a sexploitation outfit of a pink vinyl leotard and thigh-high high-heeled go-go boots. Every song, the curtain would move a few feet and she's shift to a different locale, where she'd again stand still, strumming her guitar and singing to recorded music, looking like a pink dominatrix mannequin. There was no band - ever. It. Was. Dull. She seemed to be trying hard to be stylishly edgy, but failed.

Show was in acts, like a play. The 2nd act featured dramatic pose, sometimes laying down in front of an abstract vampire mural. She seemed to have a guitar fetish - sometimes changing guitars out twice per song.

In act 3, she stood in front of a screen on a circle pedestal while weird sexually-charged videos played behind her, sometimes featuring loops of expressionless images of St. Vincent in those videos. She was expressionless in all images - she looked dead inside.

This show was an extreme disappointment after the last tour - that show was one of my favorites of the year.

Whoaa.
The audience seems split over this show - from the look on Twitter/Instagram and talking to people leaving the venue.
I think: No band. Zero atmosphere. Bored crowd. Bored artist.
I'm a long time fan and have seen her live at Glastonbury (Park Stage) and more recently The Roundhouse. Both gigs were extraordinary, visceral live events but showed a shift in her attitude towards live shows - so I could almost see the performance at Brixton coming. Between Glastonbury and The Roundhouse she had mapped out what and where each band member would be doing throughout the whole set for the whole tour (as she describes in interviews). So Brixton seems like the next phase of de-personalising the performance even further. At the Roundhouse she talked to us, although it was rehearsed, at Brixton she said almost nothing. But it was the lack of band that is the flawed idea here, I really missed them, in particular the drummer Matt Johnson.
For a few brief moments last night when it was just Annie singing almost alone there was some sense of connection to her and the music - I wouldn’t see her again without a band.

12/01/2017
Portland, ME
State Theater

The show opens with a short film. Not unusual but not anticipated.
Then a 10-15 intermission.

Then the show begins.
Annie stage right and moves to different mics upon the stage between each song. For every song and every move, STV is being delivered different MusicMan STV signature guitars to what look like militarized ninjas.
There was a blue dominatrix at one point that did something on stage. Not too sure why they were a part of the show as they were only on stage for 40 seconds.

Overall the show could be categorized into the following.
Too much...
Not enough...

and never connecting with the audience.

Exhausting watching Annie Clark play St Vincent Karaoke.
Excellent execution of the songs but the schtick is wearing thin.

Seeing St. Vincent play live is like a big surreal dream. She played everything off MASSEDUCTION and favorites from Strange Mercy, Marry Me, and Actor. The set changes and accompanying art videos were absolutely stunning. Sitting on the balcony of the venue while listening to her sing while these neon colored videos playing made me feel like I was in a giant Surrealism Salon. What a talented, innovate performer and a genuine person.

Oh, and her aunt and uncle Tuck and Patti were her opening acts. So adorable hear them call her little Annie, not to mention that they fucking RIPPED. Patti has a voice of gold and Tuck is such a fantastic guitar player. What a giant treat. Everyone took me to church!!!

St Vincent was genuinely a dynamic experience. She played with my heart all night long throwing me back and forth between love and panic. Sometimes the contrast was too much to bear! But right when the chaos overtook, Ms. Clark gently caressed us with a beautiful solo song.
I have been a fan for many years and she surpassed my expectations. The sounds were crisp and interesting even during chaotic songs, her voice and presence were powerful and lovely, and the show was wonderfully choreographed without seeming too controlled. A very unique and enjoyable show overall.

I expected to see a good artist with a good repertoire what I got was an amazing artist who looked fantastic, what blew me away was the guitar work and how good the others in the band were, what was totally unexpected was climbing from the stage onto the balcony saying hello to the audience up there (including myself),clambering across the front wall of the centre balcony to say hello to the fans on the balcony opposite and the most beautifully brilliant sight , was she did this in a mini skirt and six inch heels, what a performer and performance I think I am in love