St. Vincent is an alien from another world.
This much might be obvious to anyone who has digested the sonic mayhem of her albums, with guitars distorted beyond recognition, baritone saxes providing a funky bite and a Theremin being tortured in place of a solo.
And yet Annie Clark’s meticulously choreographed stage show for her self titled tour suggest that this alien has a scarily deep insight into our heads and a palpable tension as she readies an attack.
“Hello ladies and gentleman, and hello others,” Clark addresses the audience. “We’re not so different, you and I.” In between songs she’ll slyly suggest the questionable behavior and thoughts we all share while leaning heavily on her own creepy confessional. She’ll admit to fantasizing about seeing people naked on the L, about looking at her hands and believing there to be a mix-up, or telling a lie and fearing the universe might be punishing her.
Such is the way an alien might communicate, but Clark utilized the remainder of her near two hour set at the Riv Saturday night seducing, entrancing and terrorizing through her exotic dancing and strobe lighting used “extensively.”
Clark’s outfit makes her look like she came from the same planet Lady Gaga calls home. She wears an extremely short black frock with red plumage bursting from her chest, beset by silvery hair strewn in all directions and glowing, turquoise eye shadow made to clash.
The shortness of her skirt is no accident either. During the silky “I Prefer Your Love” she alluringly sprawls on a throne she’s bestowed for herself (Clark truly is the queen of the indie world), and later during “Cheerleader” she’ll mount it, her legs spread in a power stance and poised to kill.
Even her movements suggest Clark is trying to crawl under our skin. During “Birth in Reverse” she girates, does the robot and glides back and forward on stage in a conveyor belt moon walk. Later during “Bring Me Your Loves” the stage will glow green and Clark beacons as though she’s Gloria Swanson coming down the stairs at the end of “Sunset Boulevard.” And when she truly starts shredding she can’t help but convulsing as though possessed.
Saturday’s show was a terrifically physical performance to say the least. Her opening numbers were her bouncy singles “Rattlesnake,” “Digital Witness,” “Cruel” and “Birth in Reverse,” but she really showed the strength of the new record by opening up a song like “Prince Johnny,” squealing and shredding to the song’s slow groove in a way the album track never does.
And yet the highlight was Clark’s three-song encore. First she stood alone atop her throne and performed a lovely solo rendition of “Strange Mercy,” delicately fingerpicking her electric guitar and silencing the crowd in the process. She followed that up with a barn-burning cover of Nirvana’s “Lithium” in tribute to Kurt Cobain on the 20th anniversary of his death (watch the video below). And the way in which she allows “Your Lips are Red” to explode is still one of the finest examples of her skill.
Having seen St. Vincent once before, I know her live act is no fluke. One wonders though how she’ll be with a shorter time slot in daylight at the upcoming Pitchfork Festival. Watching her in this setting though, this alien from another world has the complete power to transport us.
Full Setlist
Rattlesnake
Digital Witness
Cruel
Birth in Reverse
Regret
Laughing With a Mouth 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 (Solo)
Lithium (Nirvana Cover)
Your Lips are Red
1 thought on “St. Vincent at the Riviera Theater, Chicago: Concert Review”