Venue:
Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith
Date: 29/06/2022
It all started with another gig. a couple of weeks ago. A friend had bought tickets for Beck at the Brixton Academy many months ago. I’d been expecting the gig to showcase a colourful array of fantastic musicians, all interacting, showing off and bringing the funk for all they were worth. What we got, good though it was, was Beck Hansen, downstage on his own, smothered in purple smoke, while his musicians toiled right at the back, in the dark, on a ten-foot riser. If you’d been seated in the circle, you might well have assumed he was playing to a load of backing tracks. So, though we pogoed and hollered through ‘E-Pro’, ‘Dreams’, ‘Loser’ and the rest, one question nagged at me all the way home: What happened to the band?
A quick look online told me: two of them had decamped to St Vincent’s latest tour, possibly in search of more onstage excitement. Checking out St Vincent’s Glastonbury highlights on iPlayer, I decided this was the kind of show I’d been after when I went to Brixton. Full of Bowie-style theatre, it crammed in a wonderful selection of songs, all played with a flourish by a band clearly having a great time. This looked like much more fun.
As soon as those highlights were finished, I had a look at the Apollo website. There were some tickets left, up in the gods, for about thirty quid. Even though it was too short notice for anyone else to join me, I went for it. So, to Hammersmith…
After a pint and a catch up with an old friend round the corner, I take my seat with a few minutes to spare before the start. Opener ‘Digital Witness’ shows us the latest incarnation of St Vincent writ very large. Instead of the cold, angular atmospheres of the past, we have funky clavinet and wah-wah guitar. The mid-70s atmospheres of latest album ‘Daddy’s Home’ are everywhere – in the music, the staging and the costumes, all feather cuts, wedge heels and lip gloss, even down to Clark’s square-ended microphone favoured by Stevie Nicks in her imperial phase.
As the set unfolds, we get most of the last album plus the favourites, all served up in this band-friendly vibe. Birth in Reverse is still startling and spiky, but the ensemble, especially Beck escapee Jason Falkner on guitar, give it a rock show sass. Other Beck-ex and MD Justin Meldal-Johnson plays a blinder on bass and synth. The rest of The Down and Out Downtown Band (as they are called) are equally groovy: Gloria Steinem-alike Rachel Eckroth on keys, Mark Guiliana on drums and a quite awesome trio of backing singers who shimmy, echo and respond like an afro’d Greek chorus. Added to this, they have ‘team mascot’ guitar roadie/waitress/vibe merchant Ariana Henry to jolly things along. While the more brittle edges of Annie Clark’s stage persona have been removed, it doesn’t mean that the show isn’t theatrical, scripted and, it must be said, more than a little arch. However, if you give in to the concept, it’s a fine one, tying the exuberance of the band to exuberant choreography and a regimented setlist like Stop Making Sense did. There are genuinely moving moments, such as New York, where Annie steps into the audience and the place lights up in every way. Sugar Boy ends up in a riot of waved fluorescent tubes and guitar duelling. Live In the Dream is (literally) acted out in slow motion, bringing up the finale in a woozy, narcotic wash.
All this said, I had a bitch of a journey from South East London to Hammersmith, (Wimbledon having snaffled all the District Line trains… for some reason), so as Annie begins the second verse of closing number The Melting of the Sun, I take my leave in order to get home by midnight. One of the benefits of going to shows on your own, I suppose. But here’s to proper shows. I’m glad I went.
The audience:
Possibly the most diverse crowd I’ve ever been part of. To my shame, I reckon I haven’t been to a gig where the men are outnumbered since Bjorn Again, twenty years ago, but it was definitely mostly women. All ages and races were present, with a healthy representation, as one might expect, from the LGBTQ+ community. The bar was doing a roaring trade in prosecco, top shelf and ‘fancy’ drinks.
It made me think..
Sometimes you want a bit of theatricality. Having now seen the Daddy’s Home live, I’m convinced it’s a modern copper-bottomed classic of an album. Some kind soul has put a decent quality video of the Detroit Show online which I’ve linked to.
Here’s the show in Detroit:
Is that a Shure MD-441 or are you just pleased to see me?
St. Vincent is one of those I ought to like but somehow don’t. Perhaps I need to witness her live. I do like Anna Calvi, who isn’t a million miles away.
I kind of know what you mean. I suspect I think I should like her more than I do.
But I do have the unpopular view that she is a stunning guitar player who isnt considered as an Axe Hero just because she is a gurl. (see also Kristen Hersch).
Agreed. She can certainly, ahem, “shred” (as a bassist, I was geeking out on Justin M-J’s fat grooves). I found the previous SV work and live stuff a little too cold and forbidding. This tour and album floats my boat much, much more.
Wow – Kristen Hersh! Haven’t heard that name for a while (goes off to excavate Throwing Muses LPs from the rubble in the attic…)
How long before a Throwing Muses thread?
10, 9, 8, 7, 6…
…longer than you predicted?
@fitterstoke
It has.
However, grrrrrr! My Throwing Muses comment just up ⬆️ is actually hilarious and clever and I DEMAND recognition.
Regards etc.
Both hilarious and clever – I’m positively dizzy…
@fitterstoke
Yes, well played! Didn’t we both do well?
Sounds a great show. More of this kind of thing. I love theatricality, glam, funk and giving it loads. It’s the new 70s, austerity is about to hurt us all, so we need the return of bands and artists in the spirit of Roxy, Bowie, SAHB, Labelle, and St Vincent seems ahead of the pack, if you ask me.
BRING IT ON.
Saw the Glastonbury set on iPlayer, looked really good (and not just a little bit sexy). I recognised the guitarist but couldn’t place where from, so thanks for clearing that up.
She was awesome at Glastonbury. Those new songs are much more in my boat-house than previous ones, much funkier and warm. I need to get the latest record, clearly.
I seem to remember speaking highly of her most recent album round these parts some time ago to little or no response. Such is the fickle nature of The Afterword.
I agree – I like it a lot; a warmer and more engaging record than Masseduction or St Vincent.
Great record, the new one.
However, the chorus of “My Baby Wants A Baby” is a very close “tribute” to Sheena Easton’s “My Baby Takes The Morning Train”, so there’s that.
To be fair, the credits reflect this, so no Gallagheresque shenanigans (TMFTL) are going on.
Ah, so? This is the downside of only downloading your music*
*Yes I know but the metadata on most tracks, even official ones, are very often skimpy. Cuh, and furthermore, tsk.
Thanks for this excellent review, TrypF. I saw this very enjoyable show at the Roskilde Festival last weekend and you’ve really caught the essence of it. I’m impressed that you not only know the names of all the songs but even the musicians. I feel like a very fickle fan by comparison.
It’s the third time I’ve seen her down there in the Danish mud and it is remarkable how she has blossomed from a brilliant but rather shy shredder to the complete show-woman she is today. I’m also very lucky (thanks to DuCool) to have seen her in concert with David Byrne and a complete marching band. What a show that was! She seems have learnt from the maestro.
At the end of that clip, there’s a brief interview where the journalist rather amusingly and completely inexplicably compares them to Bonnie and Clyde.
Wow! You even knew the name of the band member you describe as her ” ‘team mascot’ guitar roadie/waitress/vibe merchant Ariana Henry “. A small detail that added a lot to the show.
Her name led me to this rather decent photo gallery.
http://coveringthelimelight.blogspot.com/2021/10/st-vincent-thrills-audience-at-acl-tv.html
One fascinating snippet from that article.
“St. Vincent is now touring in support of her sixth solo album, Daddy’s Home, which was released this year. The timing of the latest album release coincided with the release of Clark’s father from prison, where he had been incarcerated since 2010. ”
I’m sure all you who have been following Annie more carefully than me knew all about that.
A ten year sentence for white collar crime:
https://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/artsandculture/arid-40287692.html
Just stumbled across this Tiny Desk session from 2018.
Rather a surprise after her recent, lavish shows.