St. Vincent – ICA, London 08/07/09

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Photo credit: Anika Mottershaw

Whilst the Institute of Contemporary Arts may not rank as one of London’s most charismatic gig locations, subscribing as it does to the “black box” school of venue design, that doesn’t mean it can’t conjure a truly magical show from time to time. I’ve seen Brooklyn resident Annie Clark several times, and although she’s always put on a commendable performance I’ve always felt she’d never quite lived up to her potential. Until now.

Most of the credit for this must obviously be attributed to Annie herself, whose porcelain delicacy belies the fierce energy that infuses her live performance, but it helps she’s finally acquired a backing band that does her songs justice. Her solo shows, whilst thoroughly impressive from a technical standpoint couldn’t hope to replicate the lusciousness of her recorded arrangements, whilst the rock ‘n roll approach of her previous band negated much of her charm. But this new five-piece, complete with a eclectic array of instrumentation are the perfect fit, skilfully enhancing the performance without trying to overshadow her, and she herself seems to have grown in confidence, tackling her material with more panache than ever before.

Photo credit: Crazy Bobbles

Moments of brilliance come thick and fast- opener ‘Marry Me’ immediately setting the standard for the rest of the night; Annie’s guitar tone buzzing like a livewire during ‘Your Lips Are Red’; her ferocious solo rendition of ‘Paris Is Burning’ (made all the more atmospheric with red lighting and judicious use of the smoke machines). Her experimental side is far more pronounced in her live performance; one has to love how fairly innocuous jazz ballads can suddenly shift into abrasive squalls of furious guitar-mangling brilliance, as exemplified by ‘Black Rainbow’, whose crescendoing cacophony of a coda has to rank as one of the most glorious musical moments of the year. But sometimes she’s content to play it relatively straight, as on the tremendous ‘Marrow’- those dense, dirty bursts of baritone sax are even more awesome live than on record. You almost feel humbled watching such a masterful musician at work- for sheer inventiveness and skill, she puts the vast majority of her peers to shame.

It’d be remiss of me not to acknowledge support act Blue Roses (AKA Laura Groves) who over the years has evolved from a generic, if gifted singer-songwriter to something much more intriguing. Her subtle and intricate arrangements are a treat to behold, recalling Joanna Newsom’s more reserved moments and it’s all strikingly luscious, particularly given she usually performs with just a violinist for accompaniment. There’s still room for improvement- the vocals, whilst powerful are slightly lacking in character and there are moments where the set shifts into somewhat soporific territory, but one gets the feeling that like St. Vincent, she may one day bloom into the star performer she clearly has the potential to be.