Iconic guitarist and singer St. Vincent played to a sold-out crowd at The Masonic in San Francisco.
The night began with Momma, a Los Angeles indie rock band, warming up the crowd. They jammed out to melancholic rock songs as an already-full theater reached capacity. After a great set, it was time for the main act.
St. Vincent (Annie Clark) took to the stage in total darkness. As the opening note to “Reckless” played, she appeared front and center, silhouetted by a backlight framing her against an arch. She stands still singing the ballad until the beat hits later in the song. The lights explode and the rest of the band is revealed.
As she played through her setlist, something became clear: St. Vincent is a performer often thinking about the concept of performance. There is always a sense that Clark knows that she’s performing- yet she still gives her all. As she sings in “Digital Witness”:
Digital witnesses // What’s the point of even sleeping? // If I can’t show it, you can’t see me? // What’s the point of doing anything?”
“Digital Witness” by St. Vincent
The line between the self and the performance is also the central tension of Clark’s 2020 film, The Nowhere Inn. In both the movie and her stage performances, she knows how to create iconography from her appearance. Large images of her face often appear on the LED screens at the back of the stage, and her outfit, hair styling, and signature guitar combine into a distinct look.
This is not to say that St. Vincent doesn’t know how to perform. Rather, she seems to understand performance so well that she can play with it on a meta level. There is a reason she has three Grammys. The show was incredible – bringing together old and new fans alike into a collective experience. She ended her set with the seven-minute “All Born Screaming,” a repetitive chant that led to a cathartic ending for the night.
I am an Austin, TX based filmmaker and photographer. I moved from Houston to attend the University of Texas at Austin, where I graduated in 2022. I'm a lifelong music lover and spend most of my weekends attending shows. Some recent favorites are K. Flay, Devon Again, and Farmer's Wife. Other than that, I enjoy reading, writing, playing volleyball, yoga, and gaming.
