This year Annie Clark returned in a big way as St. Vincent, releasing new album Masseduction via Loma Vista Recordings†. The album still has many of her now signature sounds, but also venturing into a poppier, more produced sound. It took some time for me to get used to it, along with the…interesting promotional campaign, but I’ve really come around on the album with each and every listen since its release.
On November 28 I took a drive to Philadelphia to catch Clark at Electric Factory, my first ever visit to the venue. I opted for this show rather than the more convenient Kings Theatre’s shows as it offered a chance to see her in a slightly more intimate environment, and hey, it’s always cool to check out a new venue somewhere else.
This tour has been puzzling in the sense that it’s literally just Clark, her guitar, and a backing track. I was a bit skeptical about this as a huge part of Clark’s live shows are her amazing band who just add so much to her songs in the live environment (they were there the last time we saw her, at Governors Ball 2015). But it didn’t take too long into the show for her to calm any doubts that I had.
The show began with the curtain just opening enough on the left side for Clark to emerge as she began a light version of “Marry Me,” from her debut album of the same name. The curtain opened a bit more and she dug into “Now, Now,” also from he debut. Slowly the curtain would open up a bit more and Clark would move further back and change her position or angle as she began playing songs from her sophomore album Actor, Strange Mercy, and then into her breakthrough self-titled album. It was an interesting way to literally travel through time and use the stage in such a way to mimic this.
After a brief intermission she reemerged and performed all of the new album in order, with some dazzling imagery behind her for each track. Although I did miss her band, I got to say that Clark pulled off this show just herself, with her lovely vocals and masterful guitar work doing more than enough to hold it down and create a riveting live show.
Find some more photos from her performance posted below, along with the setlist.
St. Vincent Setlist:
Set 1:
1. Marry Me
2. Now, Now
3. The Strangers
4. Actor Out of Work
5. Cruel
6. Cheerleader
7. Strange Mercy
8. Digital Witness
9. Rattlesnake
10. Birth in Reverse
Set 2:
11. Hang on Me
12. Pills
13. Masseduction
14. Sugarboy
15. Los Ageless
16. Happy Birthday, Johnny
17. Savior
18. New York
19. Fear the Future
20. Young Lover
21. Dancing With a Ghost
22. Slow Disco
23. Smoking Section
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