On a brisk Saturday night in October, Nashville lived up to the name Music City. All across the city some of the biggest artists from numerous musical genres performed that night. Pop singer JoJo performed in front of a sold out Exit/In crowd, while YouTube sensation turned full out rock star Poppy was at Brooklyn Bowl. Pop-rock quartet Hellogoodbye turned Mercy Lounge upside down as Grammy award winner H.E.R. was at the newly opened Firstbank Amphitheater. Those four alone are more than enough for any city to call a great night, but Nashville isn’t just any city. On top of these artists, there was still The Rolling Stones at Nissan Stadium playing in front of 70,000 cheering fans and across the Cumberland River at Ascend Amphitheater was St. Vincent in support of her latest record Daddy’s Home.
St. Vincent, real name Annie Clark, has reinvented herself and her music for each of her releases. For Daddy’s Home, a record all about life in New York City in the 1970s and the incarceration of her father, the singer embraces a new character that allows her to tackle the sensitive material of the songs from a distance.
As the show began, each member of the band came out one by one when lastly St. Vincent joined her backup singers for a little choreography. But wait, was it really her? It was quickly revealed she pulled a fast one on everyone when she joins the band clad in red shorts and jackets with the short platinum blonde hair she has sported for the album. Her doppelganger quickly leaves the stage and St. Vincent and company race into “Digital Witness” from her self-titled album to start her set.
St. Vincent’s clone returns later in the show dressed as Kat Dennings from Two Broke Girls with a rotary phone. The skit is familiar to those who saw U2’s Zoo TV tour where Bono, in character as Mr. MacPhisto, would call George H.W. Bush every night from the stage. Also, the influence that David Bowie had on Clark’s live performance is apparent throughout the show.
Although she mainly stayed in character, there were times during the concert when she would let her guard down and sometimes be a bit self-deprecating. She told the story about being recognized recently at a restaurant that provided counter service by a woman working behind the counter. Annie placed her order with the woman and when she pulled out her credit card to pay the worker told her that she could not take her money. The singer was flattered but insisted that she pay and wanted to be treated like anyone else. The woman behind the counter replied “oh no, you pay down there” as she pointed towards the cash register at the end of the counter.
The show was very theatrical and often came across like it could be a long running show on Broadway akin to what Bruce Springsteen did recently. The show was packed with highlights including some songs going through a bit of a transformation. “Cheerleader” was simply electrifying and passionate while the lead track to Daddy’s Home “Pay Your Way in Pain” found Clark screaming “I want to be loved” at the end of the song that just oozed Bowie’s “Fame.”
The true highlight to me outside of her performance was her backup singers. The three women backing up St. Vincent were their own characters in the show instead of just garnish for the stage. They helped tell the story for the show especially on the title track to her latest release. All in all, St. Vincent delivered one of the best live performances I have seen in some time and with all of the amazing talent playing throughout town on that Saturday night I would not have wanted to be anywhere other than Ascend Amphitheater.
Steven McCash is the Lead Music Writer and Utility Man for SoBros Network. Steven is the host of the ‘Drinking With…’ podcast, and the pioneer of New Music Friday, highlighting each week’s new releases in the world of music in addition to the occasional live show review. He also pitches in as a Nashville lifestyle writer and football analyst (hence the ‘Utility Man’ title). Follow on Twitter: @MC_Cash75
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