I first took notice of St. Vincent last year when she performed "Lithium" with Nirvana at the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony. After that I said I had to check her out someday and find out more about her as an artist. Last Friday the day actually came! This was a weird weird show, but mostly weird in a good way. I'm not going to pretend to 'get' art rock or even really be into it but this was a fun and interesting experience nonetheless. I'll start from the top...
I managed to catch the last couple of songs from Coves who were supporting, and I just wish I hadn't missed the beginning because they sounded great and the audience were loving them! They reminded me a little of Wolf Alice actually. Either way, I'll definitely be keeping an ear out for them after this show and I'll start by listening to their debut album Soft Friday here.
Before coming to see St. Vincent I had actually heard a few of her songs and of the ones I'd listened to, there was only one that I wasn't too keen on - "Digital Witness". She played it pretty much straight away and of course I sighed internally (and maybe a bit externally too) but it honestly sounded much better live. After that turn around I think she finally had my full attention. As the show went on there were a few bursts of strangeness, a few awkward soliloquies and what seemed like excerpts from an exorcism BUT in amongst the theatrics there were some awesome pieces of music. "Cheerleader" and "Birth In Reverse" in particular sounded great but what really blow me away and in a sense won me over was "Bring Me Your Loves". What a fantastic musical performance! One of the things I loved most about the whole evening was actually the routines and general comradery between St Vincent and her guitarist/synth/keyboardist Toko Yasuda. That really made me smile and the two are a huge power duo together. I mean these women can really really play their instruments, my goodness!
After this frenetic finale, the band stepped back on stage for the encore but before it ended, St Vincent leapt on one of the bodyguards shoulders and had him carry her to the crowd where she then bravely let the audience play (or rather hit) her guitar as the rest of her band continued the song on stage. If she couldn't get more audacious, she then put down her guitar and got back into the crowd but this time in order to hoist herself onto the balcony, where she then proceeded to walk through the crowd in the balcony chatting to each of her fans casually as the song played. In that moment, she had all of my respect. She just does not stop! Whilst walking to the door it looked like she fainted and security carried her out and after a few nervous glances she reappeared on stage. Cheers were raucous as she sang her closing song "Your Lips Are Red". This was an event I won't be forgetting any time soon!
Overall Rating - 7.5/10
Here are some pictures from the night...
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