St. Vincent, Manchester Deaf Institute, 12th November

Tension mounted as the band climbed the stage in silence last Saturday night but when the first chord of ‘Surgeon’ struck it was apparent that this would be a fantastic gig.

Annie Clark has been producing records under the name St. Vincent since 2006 and not without her share of critical and commercial success. Her first two albums, ‘Marry Me’ and ‘Actor’, offer an intense knowledge of genre and style, mixing jazz, punk and classical influences. Having dropped out of the Berkley College of Music for her belief that artistic expression cannot be taught as it were, Clark’s music confidently flows through time signatures and keys, mutating with sentiment of the melody rather than appearing like something factory made. Her second album brought her commercial success, with appearances on the David Letterman show and reaching #90 in the Billboard charts. Yet, it is with her latest album ‘Strange Mercy’ that Clark’s face began to adorn magazine covers, this time peaking at #19.

With this album St. Vincent has ‘gone electric’ with Moogs and keyboards replacing the violins of her earlier live bands. The heavy synth sounds of ‘Cheerleader’ and the choral opening to ‘Neutered Fruit’ present a more focused direction in terms of ambience. Opening and singing backing vocals, Cate Le Bon’s performance made for a winning addition to the bill: contrasting the electronic edge but rivaling St. Vincent's virtuoso singing. 
Despite her nerves, which appeared more from charm than lack of practise, Clark’s voice and musical prowess shined through. Stopping every three or four songs to explain a literary reference or apologise for infringing child labour laws whilst filming the video for her latest single ‘Cruel’, she was able to remain witty whilst engaging the audience on a critical level. 

As ever, it was her music that made the biggest impact on the crowd, with her tightly knit group and wide array of sounds. The small yet charming venue of Manchester’s Deaf Institute was perfect for the resonant tones of the instruments and their effect-laden grandeur.  Clark’s guitar playing was particularly impressive, at times soft and minimalist and at other times raucous. The atmosphere was most feverish when playing ‘Your Lips Are Red’, she descended the stage and walked through the crowd, offering her guitar up to myself and others who would pluck a string or slide a beer bottle along the neck in vain attempts to be part of the music. It was fair to say that Clark was at ease with the tongue-in-cheek nature of a rock concert.

In summation, the concert was a remarkable representation of St. Vincent’s work, frequently leaping between albums and fitting the songs to the sound of the band, bringing to question whether Clark sounds better on or off record. With her wide-eyed sincerity and tour anecdotes, she easily made the event one of intimacy. Overall, St. Vincent proved that there is still a market for inventive and experimental music and that live music is as powerful as ever.