By Jodi Root

I almost feel like St. Vincent and I are some pair of star crossed lovers. That might be pushing it a bit, but the past 3-4 times I’ve tried to see her live, something or another has prevented it last minute from coming to fruition. Used to the disappointment, I was a bit on the skeptical side so I wouldn’t get my hopes up when I got confirmation for her Thursday night at the Metro. Well, sweetheart, I’m pretty sure after last night, we are meant to be. Along with several others in the sold-out full house Chicago venue, I finally had my Annie Clark rite of passage–and I gotta say, I had severely underestimated what this mighty songbird guitaress rock star is capable of.

Unsure what to expect, I wound up getting in just as St. Vincent had kicked the set off around the 10:00 PM mark. It was as if I had walked into a lush, sweet dream sequence twisted with honey dripped madness – the band was in full throttle, in the midst of “Save Me from What I Want,” with a gorgeous Miss Clark slyly seducing the mic. The next hour passed in an incredible whirlwind – Clark is definitely more than a pretty face with a nice set of lungs – the girl can wail on her guitar and she owns the stage. Even with her petite feminine frame and full head of curls, Clark makes rocking look simple with her adorable stage banter and walking in place, strutting dance moves. The orchestration of the back-up band was downright jaw dropping; from the variety of chimes, keys and light percussion to the smooth sounds of sax, the light flute and clarinet melodies, dreamy violins and of course, heavy guitar work and molasses-coated harmonic vocals, I felt as if I had stumbled into a twisted, party dimension from Alice in Wonderland.

Clark and co. primarily showcased several tracks from Actor, along with a handful of Marry Me numbers as well. Perhaps the highlight of the evening, however, was Clark’s adorable spoken interpretation of Ice Cube – “I mean, how nice is it to have someone cook you breakfast?,” she joked – “You don’t get your car jacked either – I feel like that happened a lot in the 90’s – wait do carjacking still happen? Things to think about after the show, maybe not with the mic.” Charisma at its best, Clark continued to woo the crowd with her simple humor, “He wins at dominos and craps, then meets a girl he bones, smokes hydro and gets drunk – When I say this aloud, it’s not as romantic as I thought. . .” Half expecting her to start into some folksy rendition of “It was a Good Day,” I was not let down in the least when she instead led into her “folky, melancholy analog to Ice Cube,” – a cover of Jackson Browne’s “These Days.” Eloquent and heartwarming, girl killed it.

Closing her sweet one-night affair with Chicago, whom she reflected upon saying multiple times how nice it was to be back playing, after having “spent many nights here doing terrible things, so it’s nice to do constructive things . . . for the planet,” Clark concluded the set with a 2-song encore with a solo rendition of Marry Me’s “Paris is Burning” and the band, backed-up, “Your Lips are Red.” Every detail, from the Metro’s sharp acoustics, quality of sound, and warm, red/blue and green/violet lighting and overall energy contributed to what I believe may be one of 2010’s top stellar performances. Until you see St. Vincent live, you may never know Miss Clark’s full musical capabilities – while her recordings are beautiful and melodic, her live performances are pure majesty, magnified tenfold.

Setlist:

1. Save Me from what I Want
2. Laughing with a Mouthful of Blood
3. Actor out of Work
4. Jesus Saves, I Spend
5. Just the Same but Brand New
6. The Bed
7. These Days (Jackson Browne cover)
8. Black Rainbow
9. Marrow
10. The Party
11. Paris is Burning (solo – encore)
12. Your Lips are Red (encore)

Elsewhere: Photos: St. Vincent (Pitchfork)

Buy: St. Vincent – Actor | St. Vincent – Marry Me