Armed with her responsive Harmony Bob Cat, the mesmeric frontwoman catapulted into the set with "The Strangers" and flipped through four more of Actor's dazzling avant-rock titles--finishing with "Actor Out of Work" before turning back the clocks with "Jesus Saves, I Spend". She toned things down a bit with her majestic ode to Nico, "These Days". I wonder if the young crowd knew what they were in for, and that they were far deep in it already.
"Black Rainbow", a finer moment, but nothing compared to the hypnotic foxtrot of "Marrow". Annie, looking fanciful but deadly in her smart black dress, thunderstruck the crowd with her unabashed chops and pedal-work. She has a zillion of stomp-boxes on her board. A mental image of a smiling Robert Fripp, listening in, came to mind.
The band joined Annie after her encore solo performance of "Paris Is Burning"--locked-in for the diabolic closer, "Your Lips Are Red". Kudos to the enveloping volume of the audio and psychedelic lighting and stage work. St. Vincent kept our mouths full of blood; Annie giggling mad behind her craft, high and low.
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How remarkable were Wildbirds & Peacedrums! The Swedish husband-and-wife duo, Mariam and Andreas, slugged out a starchy collection of experimental anti-blues. Andreas kept steadfast on the kit, feeding Mariam's ambient vocal pageantry with dynamic shifts in tempo and texture. Mariam, careening over her steel pan, peppered each number with color and harmony--a true exploration of percussion this turned out to be.
Featuring songs from their rapturous debut, Heartcore and acclaimed 2008 follow-up, The Snake (which I afterwards bought at the merch table), Wildbirds & Peacedrums are a live feat of strength. Look for good things to come!
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