Why Does the Wilbur Theatre Suck? Better Rock Shows in 5 Steps
Photo of the Day, November 24, 2009: Hook, Line, and Sinker
Photo of the Day, November 25, 2009: Boston as seen from the harbor
Cheap Eats: Burtons Grill
Sports Redux: Nobody Puts Bergey In the Corner
What would you expect a St. Vincent show to be like? If last time was any indication, we could've anticipated a "sweet-tart voice" interspersed with "accomplished freakouts" on guitar. As Pitchfork put it, St. Vincent (real name: Annie Clark) projects "an aura of eerie perfection"; she's "beautiful, poised, good-humored, and well-adjusted to a degree uncommon for rock performers." And Clark's impeccable persona isn't limited to the music. She's as beautiful as her voice would lead you to expect. The name of her website is impossibly precious: http://www.ilovestvincent.com/. She even tweets about Barthes. Come on!
Tuesday night's performance met our expectations for an enchanting evening with a remarkable woman, but also confirmed our suspicion that St. Vincent's new Actor, like its subject matter, is destined to be theatrical. At the Somerville Theatre, seemingly tiny (but actually 5'7") Annie Clark took on the proportions of the silver screen, projecting a larger-than-life presence aided greatly by her phenomenal vocal talents. Alternately eerie, warm, and threatening (e.g., red) lighting enhanced the dramatic qualities of the stage, and a full band featuring violin, saxophone, flute, and clarinets (!) provided beautifully orchestral backup to Clark's singular, haunting voice. Gorgeous glissandos and fairytale strings complimented breathless, velvety vocal trajectories. At times acquiring a soundtrack quality, taking second stage to the lyrics, the alternately gentle and forceful music was played to perfection.
A Disney Princess for the indie rock crowd, Clark lived up to expectations in terms of both musical performance and crowd banter. Having attended Berklee, Clark is familiar with this area. Though she said "Thanks, Boston" near the beginning of the show (and was quickly corrected by an audience member: "This is Somerville!"), Clark defended her local cred with stories of busking in Davis ("I earned six dollars"). She stopped and restarted one song, justifying it with "I saw Chaka Khan do that once." Last night was the first stop on a five-week tour; Clark described what her band members would be doing in a few weeks: Anthony will be cursing and smoking, Bill sobbing, Dan hiding in the corner, and Evan playing Hall and Oates on the saxophone. When fans groaned at Clark's announcement of the last song, she quipped, "Apparently no one in this room has ever experienced an encore."
The set proper was drawn from Actor, with songs including "Actor Out of Work," "The Party," and more, but Clark threw us a bone with the encore. She turned up the drama (and the red lights) for "Your Lips are Red" from 2007's Marry Me. After the polished, almost scripted perfection of the Actor songs, it was refreshing to see Clark and company get gritty with an old favorite. Clark's sultry voice, the band's fluttering strings and dead-on rhythm, and an enthusiastic crowd made St. Vincent's show a blockbuster hit we'd pay to see again.
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