Oscar + Martin are opening proceedings tonight. After playing at Oh Hello the last time they were in town, they’re making the most of the significantly better sound system to bring their chilled indie-pop to life in beautiful detail. Gentle electronics float behind delicate vocals and create a relaxed start to the night for those there early enough to enjoy it. Their own music is skilfully written and keeps the crowd listening intently, but surprisingly it’s their cover of “Bootylicious”, followed by some serious floor tom action as they segue back into their own track, that brings a sense of energy that the set had been missing and starts to get the crowd moving. Closer and major single, “Do The Right Thing”, is always a highlight and it’s a pleasure to see the band performing in a larger setting.
St. Vincent comes out rocking, launching straight into “Surgeon” from her latest album Strange Mercy. Within the first few notes it’s clear that the mix is wonderful, and when the impressive light show kicks in, it looks like everything is going to fit together perfectly. The band (two keyboardists and a drummer) are hidden away in darkness, with the focus very strongly on Annie Clark tonight and she holds the audience’s attention effortlessly, switching from transfixing vocals to guitar solos without breaking stride. Ms Clark has been getting a lot of ink about her quality as a guitarist and while that’s never in question, the first few songs tonight showcase just how impressive her vocals are. There’s a passion and intensity behind the live performance that isn’t always apparent in the recorded version and it’s exciting to see an artist improving on an already well-regarded record.
Annie Clark cuts an intense figure during her songs, but when she pauses to say hello to the crowd after second track, “Cheerleader”, she comes across as down-to-earth and down-right adorable; letting everyone know “Spoiler warning – we all held koalas today.”
Third track “Chloe in the Afternoon” sizzles live. The guitar work isn’t often showy, but is perhaps more impressive for the restraint, propelling the song rather than dominating it. A few cuts from older releases follow and while they haven’t changed massively from the recordings there’s a definite sense that they’re being filtered through the sound of the current work and it brings a new feel to the work that makes it fresh again.
Things slow down a little for “Dilettante”; introduced as “a love letter, or perhaps well-meaning hate mail”, to her adopted city of New York. The middle part of the set continues in this slower vein, interspersed with occasionally vicious guitar solos in the likes of “Cruel”. There’s always a risk in a block of lower-tempo songs that the audience will become restless. Tonight there’s no chance of that, as Annie Clark holds the audience in the palm of her hand; her voice on the stripped-back “Champagne Year” an absolute highlight.
Despite that, she seems almost apologetic at the end of the bracket, saying that she wants to get everyone dancing and so the band launch into an intense version of “Marrow” from second album Actor. While this does see the crowd starting to move around, Annie is clearly not satisfied and after announcing the next track, a brand new one called “Krokodil”, she launches herself out into the crowd, thrashing around and throwing herself into audience members, her singing less controlled and more outright aggressive. Back on stage that sense of aggression continues into the next song a brilliant cover of The Pop Group’s “She Is Beyond Good And Evil”.
The slower section of the set was enjoyable but now, back into her more up-tempo work, everything speeds up and it feels like almost no time has passed before everyone vanishes offstage when the lights drop after closer “Year of the Tiger”. Fortunately we don’t have long to wait before St. Vincent returns to stage with just a single keyboardist in tow, for a very stripped-down version of “The Party”. This and final track of the night “Your Lips are Red”, now a spacey 9-minute slice of rock, have undergone significant changes and feel almost like new songs, despite their familiarity. Perfect musicianship mixed with creative re-imagining: it’s a great way to end what has been one of the early live highlights of the year.
– Sky Kirkham
