Live: St. Vincent

El Rey Theatre | Los Angeles, California | 9 February 2010

St. Vincent gave a surprisingly warm and receptive Los Angeles audience a set that, much like her music, seemed polished and delicately composed only to be punctuated by moments of the group tearing it up and abusing their instruments. It’s not only in these moments that Annie Clark and her band deliver the greatest intensity but when those raw moments end and the group return to that seemingly so-well-polished composure that really lifted the spirits of the crowd.

St. Vincent flawlessly delivered a set focused mostly on the latest album, Actor, including a wonderful performance of “Laughing With a Mouth of Blood” (the video for this song was recently featured here on The Ruckus). Midway through the set, Ms. Clark was left alone by the band and performed a gorgeous cover of Jackson Browne’s “These Days.” What I thought might have been the climax of the set proved not to be as the band reappeared and the four of them delivered a drop-dead amazing version of “Black Rainbow.”

The night was not over and after another couple songs, St. Vincent left the stage then shortly re-emerged, solo again, and gave us a raw, stripped down, rocking version of the Beatles’ “Dig A Pony.”

To finish it all off, the band reappeared once more and the group set about creating a heavy, distorted soundscape from which eventually rose a raw, thrashing version of “Your Lips Are Red.” St. Vincent’s careful polish and poise had been replaced with rough and wild beast that easily devoured everything that came before it. With the crowd clamouring for more, the band bid thanks and left us.

Should you get the chance anytime soon, St. Vincent is not to be missed.