Arts Festival review: St Vincent

St Vincent
Pacific Blue Festival Club, Thursday

American multi-instrumentalist Annie Clark performs as St Vincent. She has two albums under that moniker - 2007's Marry Me and 2009's Actor, and for this performance she is assisted by Daniel Hart (violin, guitar, backing vocals).

This duo version of St Vincent is able to coax a lot of sounds from their instruments, using pre- programmed percussion and loop pedals to build the layers of melodic ideas.

Compositionally, St Vincent's material expounds on the Joni Mitchell template of creating music that probes and pushes and pokes its way outside of the pop songwriting box, searching for a new place to rest far outside the confines of a cute three-minute radio single; simultaneously offering trace elements of the accessibility of pop songwriting, even while using different tunings and strange chords.

Lyrically there is a connection too - these are songs that have something to say, vignettes, story- songs that often end with the abruptness of Raymond Carver's prose.

Finally, Clark's guitar playing, like Mitchell's, uses jazz voicings without being overtly jazzy; her marionette movements make it feel like someone is pulling at her strings, enabling her to pull at the guitar's strings. In that sense, it is like watching David Byrne of Talking Heads; an ideas guitarist.

From Actor, the live highlights are Black Rainbow, Marrow and Just The Same But Brand New. From Marry Me, the title song and Jesus Saves, I Spend are gems. Hart's layers of violin and Clark's quirky guitar scrapes and scratches combine to make Landmines an epic journey for the listeners.

Clark performs two songs solo, both covers. Firstly, mid-set, The Beatles' I Dig A Pony, carving a chunky riff with elements of the blues entering both the playing and singing, and then a majestic version of Jackson Browne's These Days, no doubt picked up from Nico's 1967 debut solo album, Chelsea Girl.

Whilst it made no difference to those in the audience - with many offering a standing ovation - nor to the performers - grateful for the applause and attention given - it was a great shame to see a half-full house at one of the best musical offerings of this arts festival.

- © Fairfax NZ News

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