St. Vincent’s Chicago show leaves many smitten admirers asking: “Marry Me?”

June 7, 2009, at Metro

By Selena Fragassi
Published: June 11th, 2009 | 12:36am

Midway through St. Vincent's show, after rollicking versions of acclaimed hits “Marry Me” and “The Strangers,” talk quickly turned to an unlikely subject: the Miss Nebraska pageant. “It’s been a hot topic of conversation,” quipped singer Annie Clark as she recapped a recent pit stop at a Nebraska Starbucks where beautiful hopefuls had lined up for the preliminary round of the pageant. When the contestants had learned Clark and her band were musicians, she said they asked her to sing them a song, inciting a chain reaction of “shame, humiliation, and fear.”

Maybe in true Clark form, she had been telling a joke. After all, this is the girl who named her first album, Marry Me (Beggars Banquet), after a line from the television show, Arrested Development. Because, back on stage in Chicago, the only attributes to be seen were pride, grace, and confidence as the Oklahoma native swept through song after beautiful song, reminding everyone why she herself had recently been crowned the Queen Of the Indie World after unparalleled praise for this year’s release of Actor (Beggars Banquet).

Dressed in black shortalls with patterned tights, Clark’s trademark curls flounced about as she aggressively picked at her electric guitar like a wind-up toy that had been juiced at full speed, only slowing down to breathe effervescent lyrics into her double mic stand. Clark’s show was nothing if not moody, with a variance of sounds and feelings that were further exemplified by the vibrations of warm and cool colors that danced on oversized white panels that hung from the rafters; at once throwing a tantrum on her guitar in “Save Me From What I Want” as fireballs of red exploded behind her, the next moment singing like she was on the verge of tears in a solo version of “Paris Is Burning” as grays and blues softly floated by.

Clark brought with her a deft quartet of musicians on saxophone, violin, drum, and bass for a wholly formed sound reminiscent of her previous days in the Polyphonic Spree and the touring band of Sufjan Stevens. The backing band followed her charismatic lead, injecting daring cinematic soundscapes during “Actor Out Of Work,” “Marrow,” and “Black Rainbow,” among others, playing with such passion that they formed giant shadowy figures in the background, creating a vaudeville puppet show feel.

On no other track was this as remarkable as “The Strangers,” the most talked about song from the new album, which pairs an edgy, Alice In Wonderland feel with escapist lyrics about black holes that are further influenced by the effects in Clark’s double-fisted microphones. This song, like “Just the Same But Brand New,” and “Now, Now” were thrilling examples of the brilliant timing in Clark’s compositions — least expected, she ups the ante and takes the song to a whole new level.

By the time the encore rolled around, adding a glossy finish to the night with superb renditions of “The Party,” and “Your Lips Are Red,” Clark crowned the show “the best of the tour.” But like Actor, there was no doubt that it would be a runner-up for best of the year, too.

For more photos from this show visit Venus Zine’s Flickr page

St. Vincent official site

St. Vincent MySpace page

Beggars Banquet Records