Though I had already seen St. Vincent, the stage name of singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark, perform at Bonnaroo last year with the legendary David Byrne, this show at the Riviera would mark my first time seeing her solo show.We didn’t arrive at the venue that early, so we ended up standing in the middle of the second tier of the venue, perhaps a dozen feet from the railing, at best a mediocre view. Before the beginning of the show, a voice announced that she preferred everyone to refrain from taking pictures or video and just enjoy the performance. The vast majority of the audience, including myself, respected her wishes. It was a nice change to not have my attention constantly diverted from the stage to a raised growing object being waved around in order to capture the perfect shot. The downside is that now I don’t have any pictures to post. Unfortunately, St. Vincent took a long time to arrive on stage after the opener, which is never appreciated. However, her demeanor and style are very professional and polished, and she strikes me as an artist who carefully considers every aspect of her performance, so I want to assume there was a legitimate reason for making us wait.
She took the stage wearing a short black dress with a large red bow/ribbon on the front. Her shoulder length hair was died platinum blonde and left flowing and messy. Her face was accented by bright blue eye shadow. Joining her on stage were a keyboardist, drummer, and another musician manning a laptop. I’m still not sure what you would call such a person. Can someone play a laptop the way they play the drums?
Before the show, she was introduced by someone from WXRT Radio. The host of the evening described her as a “singular” performer, totally unique in her craft. By the end of the show, I came to generally agree with the statement. However, while I never picked up on it when I saw her actually perform side by side with David Byrne, I now noticed now how much of a younger, more attractive, female David Byrne she is, at least in regards to her avant-garde style.
The choreography, artistry of the scene, and instrumentation were meticulous. This included a number of various little robot-like dances and interacting with the audience as if she were an ambassador from another world. Between songs, she shared a series of strange ruminations on the type of people that she expected would be in attendance, which became progressively more obscure each time, such that no one could possibly relate anymore – disbelief that her hands weren’t actually somebody else’s, experimenting with fire as a child, and imagining what people look like naked on the L. I wasn’t sure if these were a series of personal confessions or just random contrived scenes. She also incorporated a sultry diva persona which included exotic dancing and writhing on the stage. She completely invented the character she became onstage. Her commanding presence was in stark contrast to the slight, soft spoken young woman she seems to be in interviews.
The performance was reminiscent of the persona that Lady Gaga acquires during her performances, though nothing quite as bold as a meat bikini. St. Vincent is still a musician above a performance artist, so the music, not the spectacle, was still the primary vehicle through which she interacted with her audience. Said music was equally other worldly at times; she also used extensive guitar reverb and other effects. Her setlist pulled from each of her four albums, though most from her recent eponymous album (2014) and Strange Mercy (2011). As April 5th was the 20th anniversary of Kurt Cobain’s death, she included a cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium” as part of her encore.
Setlist:
Rattlesnake
Digital Witness
Cruel
Birth in Reverse
Regret
Laughing With a Mouth Full of Blood
I Prefer Your Love
Pieta
Every Tear Disappears
Surgeon
Cheerleader
Prince Johnny
Year of the Tiger
Marrow
Huey Newton
Bring Me Your Loves
Northern Lights
Krokodil
Encore:
Strange Mercy
Lithium (Nirvana Cover)
Your Lips Are Red
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