St. Vincent - FUV Live from Celebrate Brooklyn - 2014

Since the release of St. Vincent's ferociously beautiful self-titled album earlier this year—her fourth solo record—Brooklyn-based Annie Clark's assured ascendance as rock 'n' roll's astonishing guitar-shredding goddess, with silver hair and a sci-fi sparkle in her eye, has been thrilling to watch. So what better way to close out Celebrate Brooklyn's starry 2014 summer season last Saturday night at the Prospect Park Bandshell than with St. Vincent's brilliantly unconventional, explosive show, broadcast live on FUV? Happily, you can revisit that extraordinary night now in the FUV Vault.

Grasping a sleek ebony guitar and calling out to her fellow "freaks and weirdos," Clark and her bandmates—keyboardist Daniel Mintseris, moog player/bassist Toko Yasuda and drummer Matt Johnson—spanned the breadth of St. Vincent's work with focus on her latest release, from the first bite of "Rattlesnake" to the visceral dénouement of "Your Lips Are Red."

The choreography of St. Vincent's live show, which could be awkwardly twee if done wrong, is instead effortless, smartly enhancing the tech concept that roils beneath songs like "Digital Witness": floating robotic shuffles, graceful port de bras, snaps of the head and, as in "Prince Johnny," Clark tumbling down stairs like a leather-skirted rag doll. But it's Clark's deft, fierce, distorted and breathtaking guitar solos—one of which she played while suspended high atop the helpful hands of the crowd—which vault her live performance to a transcendent level not often experienced. St. Vincent, the woman and the band, is an unstoppable force and WFUV was very proud to be able to bring this concert to our listeners.

Set List:

• Rattlesnake
• Digital Witness
• Cruel
• Marrow
• Every Tear Disappears
• I Prefer Your Love
• Actor Out of Work
• Surgeon
• Cheerleader
• Prince Johnny
• Birth in Reverse
• Regret
• Huey Newton
• Bring Me Your Loves

Encore:

• Strange Mercy
• Year of the Tiger
• Your Lips Are Red

[recorded: 08/09/14]

Funding for WFUV's ongoing coverage of live concerts and festivals comes from The Agnes Varis Trust, supporting affordable access to the arts, education and healthcare.