Review: Greg phillips. Photos: Jason Rosewarne.
For all the talk I’d heard about the visual element of St Vincent concerts around the world, the stage pre-show was looking particularly sparse and tidy. Local singer, songwriter Lotte Gallagher had just warmed the audience up beautifully and now the stage sat idle, predominantly in black. Drum riser back right, keyboard station back left, three microphone stands up front, three pedal boards below and some neatly placed guitars in a rack but no sign of amplifiers. A remix of Bowie’s song DJ plays at low level in the background. Annie Clark aka St Vincent is 25 minutes late, the excitement is mounting and you begin to wonder about what’s going on behind the curtain. Road crew with torches take the opportunity to check the stage for the umpteenth time, unlikely to see anything different from their last stage stroll a few moments earlier but looking busy nevertheless.
Finally the band and then Annie emerge as a huge piercing spotlight beams out into the audience, so bright that you could only peer occasionally from under your eye-shading hands. St Vincent is a vision for sure, a silhouette of a goddess-like figure, arms stretched amid a haze of white light and fog as she launches into the dramatic opening strains of Reckless from the latest album All Born Screaming. “I watched you all night till the dawn had come, And the angels came down and picked you up.” It’s an impressive opening statement, the woman has presence!
Fear The Future and Los Angeles follow, both from her Masseduction album and then Big Time Nothing from All Born Screaming, signalling to all that his ain’t no pretentious art rock exhibition, it’s a damn powerful rock show. Rock star guitarist Jason Falkner (Beck, Jellyfish) spurts dirty, coarse tones from a range of Tele-style instruments. Mark Guiliana hits the drums harder than anyone I’ve heard for some time and his partner in rhythm, part-time model and the band’s bass player Charlotte Kemp Muhl anchors it all down with some deep bottom end boom. Meanwhile, keyboard player Rachel Eckroth splashes her appealing piano chords elegantly into the mix.
An 80s era vibe permeates Marrow from the Actor album as St Vincent reminds us of her significant prowess on the guitar, unleashing some savage riffs in her own unique style. Throughout the night Annie’s high-heeled female guitar tech is active, offering differently tuned versions of the St Vincent signature Music Man guitar and taking the just-used ones away for a wipe.
Without acknowledging any politician in particular and without actually saying so, Annie knowingly directs the sentiments of her song Dilettante toward the current political situation worldwide. “Nobody’s winning,” she sings with anger, “The sharks are swimming in the red.” Picking up a Roland Aerophone digital wind instrument, she delivers an unusual bubble-like sound to round out the tune in an impactful way.
Sweetest Fruit and Flea from the All Born Screaming album highlight Annie’s atypical approach to song structures, much like the shape of her signature guitar and the way she moves, it’s all a little bit angular rather than fluid but always resulting in magnificence. St Vincent is a performer who is revelling in the artist she has become, the creation of her own doing, one of extreme confidence, grace and boldness.
An atmospheric Cheerleader from the Strange Mercy album receives an enthusiastic response from the mesmerised crowd leading to an extraordinary drum solo from Mark Guiliana, in which every beat seems like an explosion of fireworks. The band take the chance to breathe, sitting on the stage floor like children in wonder of the unfolding display of percussive power.
The industrial sounds of Broken Man, a song the band recently performed on Later with Jools Holland has the crowd rockin’ in the aisles. A moody Candy Darling sans instruments other than Rachel Eckroth’s sympathetic piano notes provides a David Lynchian moment, with Jason Falkner and Charlotte Kemp Muhl cosied up together under a spotlight on haunting backing vocals.
Annie then thanks Lotte Gallagher for opening the show, the crew for making the show happen, “even though every night is a different kind of a cluster fuck”. A nod perhaps to the reason why the show started almost half an hour late no doubt. Band introductions follow leading to the joyful intro to the upbeat New York from Masseduction, causing the audience to break out into an unprompted syncopated clap. With the crowd singing and dancing along, Annie moves to the front of the stage to sit then suddenly leaps out into the audience, walking up the aisles, singing as she goes, grabbing phones and taking selfies. It’s an all-in lovefest here at the Palais Theatre as artist and audience become one. The exhilarating electro-dance groove of Sugarboy kicks in and the crowd by now have lost all inhibitions.
The song All Born Screaming begins in a fabulous funky groove as she sings “We’re all Born Screaming”, merging soon after into an eerie, pulsating beat. The tempo is increased, the band sing the recurring chorus, the drama ascends and St Vincent returns to the pose she started with, a stark isolated figure in a spotlight. A cymbal crashes and the drumbeat increases as the song builds then abruptly the instrumentation stops, leaving us with just the band’s angelic voices. St Vincent bows her head, hands clasp around the mic stand as the voices cease altogether, the crowd erupts and she remains in that same bowing position for what seems like an eternity, soaking in the love before she waves and leaves the stage.
While the house lights attempt with all their might to call it a day, the crowd wins out and St Vincent returns in stocking feet to perform her heartfelt ballad, Somebody Like Me, backed only by Rachel Eckroth.
Things I learned tonight: Annie Clark’s voice is more powerful than I had assumed (my bad), she’s a gun guitarist, her catalogue of music is vast and impressive, her band kicks arse and in a world of rock n roll wannabes, St Vincent is authentically and undeniably a superstar.
Set list
. Reckless ALL BORN SCREAMING
. Fear the Future MASSEDUCTION
. Los Angeles MASSEDUCTION
. Big Time Nothing ALL BORN SCREAMING
. Marrow ACTOR
. Dilettante ST VINCENT
. Pay Your Way in Pain DADDY’S HOME
. Digital Witness ST VINCENT
. Sweetest Fruit ALL BORN SCREAMING
. Flea ALL BORN SCREAMING
. Year of the Tiger ST VINCENT
. Cheerleader STRANGE MERCY
. Broken Man ALL BORN SCREAMING
. Birth in Reverse ST VINCENT
. Hell Is Near ALL BORN SCREAMING
. Candy Darling DADDY’S HOME
. New York MASSEDUCTION
. Sugarboy MASSEDUCTION
. All Born Screaming ALL BORN SCREAMING
Encore:
. Somebody Like Me DADDY’S HOME
