I’ve seen St. Vincent twice. First was at ACL in 2014 on the tour for her self-titled album with a full band, and then in Berlin in 2017 on the Masseduction tour, where she appeared solo. Her only other scheduled show in the meantime in Berlin in 2021 was canceled, so that’s been it. I was a big fan of her latest album, All Born Screaming from last year, so I was looking forward to this show.
Cult of Venus appeared first, alone on stage with just a guitar, a keyboard, and a powerful smoke machine. The highlight was her strong voice. She also produced quite a bit of sound, but I wondered if all the layers were being controlled by her via her synth setup or if it was handled offstage. Regardless, the sum total was very clean and produced, which limited her opportunities to engage and explore. Her songs were fairly short and so was her set. The beats were good and the music was fine, but there was no life to it. It felt too staged and manufactured. Her aesthetic definitely fit the St. Vincent mold, and it felt like Venus had drawn quite a bit from St. Vincent’s solo setup.
But when St. Vincent came out, I was relieved that she was touring with a full band. I wasn’t a fan of the highly programmed solo show in 2017 and much preferred the rawer band performance from 2014. This time she had an even larger band, very much in the rock mode. Notably, the band included guitarist Jason Falkner and drummer Mark Guiliana. Falkner is perhaps best known for playing with Beck and Air; I saw him on stage with Beck on that same day I saw St. Vincent in 2014. Guiliana has a long resume in the jazz world but got a lot of attention for playing on Bowie’s Blackstar (2016). The others were Rachel Eckroth on synth and vocals and Robert Ellis on bass and keyboards. All together, they were a formidable team, and it’s cool that St. Vincent can get some big names to back her up.
Cult of Venus appeared first, alone on stage with just a guitar, a keyboard, and a powerful smoke machine. The highlight was her strong voice. She also produced quite a bit of sound, but I wondered if all the layers were being controlled by her via her synth setup or if it was handled offstage. Regardless, the sum total was very clean and produced, which limited her opportunities to engage and explore. Her songs were fairly short and so was her set. The beats were good and the music was fine, but there was no life to it. It felt too staged and manufactured. Her aesthetic definitely fit the St. Vincent mold, and it felt like Venus had drawn quite a bit from St. Vincent’s solo setup.
But when St. Vincent came out, I was relieved that she was touring with a full band. I wasn’t a fan of the highly programmed solo show in 2017 and much preferred the rawer band performance from 2014. This time she had an even larger band, very much in the rock mode. Notably, the band included guitarist Jason Falkner and drummer Mark Guiliana. Falkner is perhaps best known for playing with Beck and Air; I saw him on stage with Beck on that same day I saw St. Vincent in 2014. Guiliana has a long resume in the jazz world but got a lot of attention for playing on Bowie’s Blackstar (2016). The others were Rachel Eckroth on synth and vocals and Robert Ellis on bass and keyboards. All together, they were a formidable team, and it’s cool that St. Vincent can get some big names to back her up.
[St. Vincent.]
The setlist was great. She played a bunch of songs from the new(-ish) album and a wide selection from across her back catalog. I would’ve gladly taken more from her self-titled album, but even the songs from Masseduction, which wasn’t my favorite when it came out, turned out great on stage and had all the energy I missed when she tried them solo. The sound could’ve been better (the vocals were hard to hear and the bass was muddy) but it still came over really well. I loved the guitar interplay and was happy to have that back. St. Vincent also used a Soma Pipe and a Stylophone Theremin for some extra little effects. And of course she handed her guitar into the crowd during “Cheerleader” and then stage dove during “New York” while continuing to sing as if it were no big deal. During the latter, another woman came out to play Ellis’ synth. She had been bringing St. Vincent her guitars, and she looked a bit like Cult of Venus, which made me wonder if it was the same person.
[At the fence. Note the extra synth player.]
I hadn’t peeked at setlists in advance, but I was hoping she’d play “Candy Darling”. The definitive song about the actress is of course “Candy Says” by The Velvet Underground, but nonetheless, I appreciated St. Vincent’s homage to the trans icon. Sure enough, she played it as the encore, but she played it rather loose and coy. She interrupted it and talked through it in a way that made it feel insincere. I was happy to have any version of it, but I would’ve preferred a straighter (lol) performance or a different arrangement. And then she left. I was hoping for just one or two more bangers to end on a high note, but instead it was just this formless rendition of a short, slow, sentimental song. It wasn’t the best way to end a show. I think I’m picky about this sort of thing. Regardless, the rest of the show was a delight, so I can forgive it!
[Singing while crowdsurfing.]
Here’s the setlist:
01. Reckless
02. Fear the Future
03. Los Ageless
04. Broken Man
05. I Wanna Be Your Dog [Stooges cover tease] → Birth in Reverse
06. Dilettante
07. Pay Your Way in Pain
08. Flea
09. Cheerleader
10. Big Time Nothing
11. Marrow
12. Violent Times
13. New York
14. Sugarboy (with “Los Ageless” lyric tease)
15. All Born Screaming
Encore:
16. Candy Darling
Scores:
Cult of Venus: B-
St. Vincent: A-
Thanks to Keagan!
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