In May, St Vincent covered Big Black and all of a sudden some 66,000 viewers got to see something they hadn't seen before. New fans might have skipped the dense layerings of Marry Me and Actor to get to the pretty pop songs of Strange Mercy, but what no one really knew was how hard Annie Clark could be. St Vincent is more than one person; for each of her albums she is a different musician, evolving from layer and harmony towards texture and melody. If the new St Vincent weren't so radio-ready, MTV wouldn't be filming her shows.
Under the cover of fitful stage lights and smoke machines, St Vincent played her cast of characters before a typical Webster Hall crowd. A few people hung their right hands in the air and a few sung along to "Surgeon" and "Cruel." The kids were so green that they touched their noses when they smelled green. There were even a few that wanted nothing but another Big Black cover.
Since seeing her band play The Met just months ago, the sound had become bigger and the performance more mature. Full-breaks in "Your Lips Are Red" were synchronized with lighting switches and red flood lamps. Most of the old songs took on new lives with longer solos and lyrical emphasis. Ms Clark even told a couple of tour stories. But as good as the songs sounded and as great as Ms Clark is to watch play her guitar, the song of the night was the cover of The Pop Group's "She's Beyond Good and Evil."
She hit her guitar against the mic stand and shook it in the air as if something was loose, and the only way to get it out was to beat it violently. The yelling and the convulsions caused a visible crevasse in the audience, some were frightened or even shocked while others cheered as if at a fight. Since Strange Mercy, St Vincent has been about one soft song away from the mass appeal and 'adult rock' tags of Feist. Here's hoping the next character Ms Clark takes on is Danzig.
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