MUSIC

The Fleece, Bristol (Fri 11 Nov)

There’s always been a tension about St. Vincent’s live performances. “I’m just being coy,” Annie Clark muttered during a 2009 show, but her awkward shyness, her reticence – it appeared genuine. She recoiled from the mic at every opportunity, doubled over, face covered by hair as she threw frantic strum spasms at her guitar. Tonight, she shows real aggression. She directs the soundman with agitated arm movements. During a cover of The Pop Group’s ‘She Is Beyond Good and Evil’, unintentional bouts of feedback occurring more and more frequently, her expression more irate by the second, she explodes at the end of the line: “My love was born on a ray of FUUUUCKKKKK.” It’s not that Clark is a diva, just more aware, more responsible for the act. What we’re watching is a frustrated perfectionist, wanting every seasick distorted tone to cut through. For every note to be pitch perfect. For every audience member to pulse with the deafening Moog sub-bass. Yet they don’t. Almost as though hypnotised, it’s also unnervingly quiet between songs. When she attempts a stage dive during ‘Your Lips Are Red’, the best the front row can muster is to stop a head-to-floor collision. Clark’s records have always been bipolar – Stravinsky influences as often as King Crimson – and it’s always shown up live. But to watch it show so openly in her personality is uncomfortable. Fascinating and, don’t get us wrong, just one aspect of one of the best performances Venue has witnessed all year – but uncomfortable. Crude lyrical additions (“I think I love you, I think I’m FUCKING MAD”) have never been more apt. (Leah Pritchard)

Copyright Leah Pritchard 2011; pic copyright Leah Pritchard, www.leahpritchardphotography.com