Annie Clark (aka St. Vincent) at Waterloo Records for her in-store show
Last night St. Vincent wrapped up her recent five-week tour in Austin at the Mohawk to a sold-out show. It wasn’t her first time here, she had played during ACL to replace someone else at the last minute and Annie was a member of Polyphonic Spree.
I was introduced to St. Vincent a couple years ago through a particular World Cafe podcast that focuses on new artists. The host gives a quick bio and then plays a couple songs. What I heard was intriguing. The song “Marry Me” was so unique, weird, humorous and unforgettable, I didn’t hesitate buying it at Waterloo Records. Annie’s brief interview on The Onion was memorable too, especially how she replied to the correspondent’s question regarding the song.
When her second album Actor came out this Spring, I couldn’t wait to purchase it. Shortly before its release, I caught an NPR piece about how it was composed with Garage Band’s loops. Annie used the software to write and “sketch” out what she wanted from the other musicians when her material was ready for the studio. I love Garage Band! It is one of the coolest applications Apple bundles with new computers. Back in 2005, Somara and I made a few songs by similar means.
Anyway, my friend Chip told me about the in-store performance she had slated before the show so I scheduled a partial vacation day from work. Going to these events at Waterloo or Book People are a major reason why I love living in Austin. But due to a mix up between the record store’s e-mail reminder and its Web site, I thought it was at 5 PM. I did have a more pressing issue yesterday (fighting a nagging cold) but figured I’d be early when I pulled in at four. Obviously, I missed the performance yet she was still doing autographs and an employee gave me a rare (only 100 were available) poster because I bought my copy of Actor from Waterloo.
In person, Annie Clark is a very sweet, soft-spoken lady. She gladly confirmed the Garage Band element I heard on NPR. Good thing Somara isn’t the jealous type too, I got a couple circle symbols with my autograph and I can’t recall if those are kisses or hugs. As for the poster, I asked her to sign it for my doctor (Dr. Custer) because he’s into music like me. I told her about how many of my early sessions with him used to include discussions about Neil Young’s material. Annie answered, “I love Neil Young!” so this little gift will be pretty cool for the good doctor.
St. Vincent uses two microphones in concert. The left (facing the crowd) is for harmonizing, looping or chorus effects and the right for lead vocals.
As for the live performance, St. Vincent delivered. Annie was accompanied by a very versatile troop: a bassist/woodwind player, drummer, violinist/guitarist and keyboardist/saxophonist: like a hybrid mini-orchestra/rock band. Now I understand why other reviewers kept using the phrase Disneyesque in their writing; every time I heard the woodwind parts, Fantasia flashbacks were experienced. They opened with “Marry Me” which the crowd loved. The rest of the show was a mix of songs from both albums: “Paris is Burning,” “Now Now,” “Save Me From What I Want,” and “Actor Out of Work” readily come to mind, I didn’t get around to listening to Actor in its entirety before the concert so the bulk was unfamiliar yet never uninteresting. Between songs Annie told a funny story about how she recently met David Byrne during Bonaroo while eating beef jerky and Cheetos at a gas station.
One big revelation I took away was this lady’s composition skills. I seriously believe she could be the next Danny Elfman in the near future. One friend said my hunch was a bold statement. I agree but then again, if you were listening to Oingo Boingo over 20 years ago, I doubt you’d think Danny would go on to compose the score for Spider-Man and the them song to The Simpsons.
St. Vincent will be on David Letterman next week, Wednesday night, June 24, 2009. Check her out. You’ll either be impressed, annoyed or puzzled. I’m hoping for number the impressed result.