The Wake

Yesterday, after a friend talked me into it, I decided to see St. Vincent’s show at Cedar Cultural Center. St. Vincent is the stage name, or as she called it “superhero name,” of Annie Clark. Before her solo debut this past year she was member of The Polyphonic Spree and toured extensively with Sufjan Stevens. Whenever I hear a female indie artist who can shred I’m instantly reminded of Cat Power. The fact that they share awesome names is not the only thing they share, but also their quirky stage presences. In Chan “Cat Power” Marshall’s case it often turned into an awkward live show (until recently), but Annie’s head jerks and squalling guitar freak outs were part of a centered and dynamic performance. She opened the performance with the loopy “Now Now.” Again and again layers of guitar and voice loops were stunningly backed by a band that included the standard bass and drums along with a violinist. The Cedar Cultural Center has to be one of the strangest venues, but it fits the mellower indie rock that Ms. Clark fits into. When she wasn’t switching between her three microphones, Annie offered the audience some delightfully quirky questions. Near the end of the show she asked the audience, “Do you guys ride snowmobiles up here?” I guess that is sort of a good question, but strange none the less. Her strange wit was reminiscent of the weirdest Ryan Adams comments (Eggs anyone?), but she was still grounded within the performance. The delightfully eary “Your Lips Are Red” and “Mary Me” showed the dynamic range of her performance easily segueing from smooth jazz tinged vocals to something decidedly different. She decided not to leave the stage for her encore after the audience unanimously rose up and applauded her strange, but often times a mind blowing performance. She might just be the best guitarist in Indie Rock.

St. Vincent - Your Lips Are Red

Tags: Annie Clark, Cedar Cultural Center, Rawk, St. Vincent