St. Vincent Amazes at the Brudenell

Let me start by saying that on Wednesday, Nov. 16, a tiny woman in massive heels brought a packed venue to its knees. As one of my English pals so articulately put it, "She makes that guitar her bitch."

St. Vincent brought out the largest crowd that I have seen at the Brudenell Social Club (although I haven’t been to that many), and rightly so. She has come off of one of her most successful and critically acclaimed releases, Strange Mercy. With anticipations high, the tension was palpable as the stage crew tuned the guitars, adjusted the lights, and kicked the fog machines into full gear, after a wait that seemed like an eternity.

When she did come out, the tiny Annie Clark in her high heels showed that big surprises come in small packages. Playing mostly off of the excellent Strange Mercy, the powerful sound of St. Vincent demonstrated the best of the recent album. Despite the amazingly forceful performance of many of her excellent new tracks, Clark came across as incredibly modest throughout those brief moments in between songs where she gave the audience a brief glimpse into everything from her music video for "Cruel" to her recent cover of The Pop Group's "She Is Beyond Good and Evil."

It wasn't all constrained to the new work, as Clark and company provided some of the greatest moments performing older hits, including an excellent cover of "She Is Beyond Good and Evil." It was St. Vincent's performance of "Marrow" that they were able to give a much more intense life to, which cannot be given complete justice when listened to recorded. It was the encore that stole the show with an amazing rendition of "Your Lips Are Red." It featured Clark jumping into the audience at the most intense moments of the track, and within seconds doing a complete turnaround and calming down the song to what was the end of one of the greatest performances I have seen in recent memory.

And on that night Clark certainly made that guitar her bitch.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Itt0rALeHE8

DJ Ones' Five Music Facts from the past week

1. Black Lips have released details about their follow-up to 2009's "200 Million Thousand." The album, which has yet to be titled, is set to release sometime during the summer. In talking about the next album, guitarist Ian Saint Pé stated, "I'm already digging what we've got. I've read reviews where people say we haven't changed, but, man, the wheel ain't broke, don't fix it." (via Billboard)

2. The New Pornographers have announced a new single, and a large, upcoming, North American tour in support of their next album entitled "Together." The single, is called "The Crash Years," and the band is planning to make a stop at Memorial Hall, on the campus of UNC, June 25. (via Pitchfork)

3. Saturday Night Live actor Fred Armisen has joined Joanna Newsom during her current tour. Armisen who helps open the show as German drumming expert Jens Hennemann, has joined Newsom during her shows in Virginia, North Carolina, and Georgia. (via Pitchfork)

4. Concert promoter Live Nation has started testing new digital wristbands that would allow concert-goers the ability to purchase concessions and work as the ticket for a show or festival. The technology, which is used to help fight against touting, uses smart chip technology to track the audience. John Probyn from Live Nation UK states, "Your ticket won't be a paper ticket, it'll be a wristband unique to you." (via NME)

5. Beck has been joined by Liars, St. Vincent, and Sergio Dias of Os Mutantes to record INXS's 1987 album, "Kicks." The fourth album in Beck's project to cover entire records in one day, was recorded in approximately 12 hours. The song "Guns from the Sky" is available to listen to now. (via NME)