St.Vincent
2/14/7
Schubas in Chicago
St.Vincent is the work of Annie Clark who, waifish as she is, posesses a definite stage presence and appeal. As a member of The Polyphonic Spree and as someone who has played with such greats as Glenn Branca, she also has quite the resume already, especially for someone as young as she is. It’s quite possible that she may rise to a vast stardom upon the release of a full length album if this much acclaim and following have grown for her after only live performances and a three song EP.
In a way, St. Vincent is a photographer’s nightmare because when she wasn’t at the back of the stage singing and playing keyboard behind cut out waves, she sang using microphone equipment that cut across and therefore blocked most of her beautiful and somewhat mysterious looking facial features. Clark sings alternately between a regular microphone and one that Tim DeLaughter uses as well, which distorts her voice a bit to make it sound almost slightly old fashioned and slightly similar to some of CocoRosie’s vocals. From an auditory standpoint, this brought quite a bit of enchantment to her songs. It wasn’t just her way of singing or the microphone’s effects that really drew me in, however, but also her really funny personality. She was definitely grateful for the sold out audience and to be supporting Midlake. The banter between songs was soft but made one sense her personality. At one point, she talked about how she loves music sometimes so much that she just wished she could eat it.
St. Vincent also holds her own in the grand category of band names department. Not to be too superstitious but think of all the great musicians and bands with St. or fully Saint… Of course, there’s Saint Etienne but also one of John Peel’s favorites, talented 70s folk musician Bridget St. John to lay claim to sainthood. Last but not least, there’s also one of Norway’s finest, Saint Thomas.
Though it’s short, her three song ep holds great promise. “Paris is Burning” is almost apocalyptic in some senses whereas “What Me Worry (?)” takes on a jazzier tone. Finally, there is her cover of Nico’s “These Days,” which has always been one of my personal favorites. With an EP like this combined with the songs she played in her set that I’m hoping will appear on a soon to be released full length, fans have a great deal to look forward to from Annie Clark.
If you missed seeing her this time around, you can catch St. Vincent on her tour with John Vanderslice at the Lakeshore Theater on April 13th.
Listen to St. Vincent on myspace
Click more for upcoming tour dates:
Feb 15 2007 8:00P
7th Stree Entry with Midlake Minneapolis
Feb 16 2007 8:00P
Maintenance Shop/Iowa State with Midlake Ames, Iowa
Feb 22 2007 8:00P
Walter’s with Midlake Houston, Texas
Feb 23 2007 9:00P
The Parish with Midlake Austin, Texas
Feb 24 2007 8:00P
Granada Theatre with Midlake Dallas, Texas
Mar 2 2007 8:00P
The Fillmore @ NOISEPOP San Francisco
Mar 16 2007 8:00P
Antone’s @ SXSW Austin, Texas
Apr 6 2007 8:00P
Doug Fir Lounge with John Vanderslice Portland, Oregon
Apr 7 2007 8:00P
Triple Door with John Vanderslice Seattle, Washington
Apr 9 2007 8:00P
Kilby Court with John Vanderslice Salt Lake City, Utah
Apr 10 2007 8:00P
Hi-Dive with John Vanderslice Denver, Colorado
Apr 12 2007 8:00P
The M Shop with John Vanderslice Ames, Iowa
Apr 13 2007 8:00P
Lake Shore Theater with John Vanderslice Chicago, Illinois
Apr 14 2007 8:00P
Ladies Literary Club with John Vanderslice Grand Rapids, Michigan
Apr 15 2007 8:00P
Ohio University – The Union with John Vanderslice Athens, Ohio
Apr 17 2007 8:00P
Johnny Brenda’s with John Vanderslice Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Apr 18 2007 8:00P
Maxwell’s with John Vanderslice Hoboken, New Jersey
Apr 19 2007 8:00P
Mercury Lounge with John Vanderslice New York, New York
Apr 20 2007 8:00P
Middle East Upstairs with John Vanderslice Cambridge, Massachusetts
Apr 25 2007 8:00P
The Rock And Roll Hotel with John Vanderslice Washington, Washington DC
Apr 26 2007 8:00P
Local 506 with John Vanderslice Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Apr 28 2007 8:00P
The Map Room with John Vanderslice Charleston, South Carolina
Apr 29 2007 8:00P
The (Art) Garage with John Vanderslice Columbia, South Carolina
Apr 30 2007 8:00P
40 Watt Club with John Vanderslice Athens, Georgia
May 1 2007 8:00P
Bottletree with John Vanderslice Birmingham, Alabama
May 2 2007 8:00P
St. Louis University – Biliken Club with John Vanderslice St. Louis, Missouri
May 3 2007 8:00P
Randy Bacon Gallery with John Vanderslice Springfield, Missouri
May 5 2007 8:00P
Dan’s Silverleaf with John Vanderslice Denton, Texas
May 6 2007 8:00P
Emo’s with John Vanderslice Austin, Texas
May 8 2007 8:00P
Modified Phoenix, Arizona
May 9 2007 8:00P
Casbah with John Vanderslice San Diego, California
May 10 2007 8:00P
Largo with John Vanderslice Los Angeles, California
February 16th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I’m glad you enjoyed St. Vincent as much as I did! Oh, and “These Days” is not a Nico song (despite what the EP sleeve says) – it was written by Jackson Browne.
February 16th, 2007 at 3:12 pm
ah…guess I should have realized that…but you know to be honest I always did think it was Nico’s until you just corrected me. She really claimed it in a way I guess. (I don’t mean she ripped it off so much as covered it in a way that truly made it her own.)
February 16th, 2007 at 5:14 pm
Actually, she recorded it first – they were in a relationship at the time and she recorded three of his songs for Chelsea Morning: These Days, The Fairest of the Seasons (both of these are on the Royal Tennenbaums soundtrack), and Somewhere There’s A Feather.
February 17th, 2007 at 11:03 pm
Yeah I love that Royal Tennenbaums soundtrack!
Gosh, Thierry…I didn’t even know Nico and Jackson Browne were ever in a relationship. Aren’t you the knowledgeable one!