St Vincent Puts Lupo’s In A Trance

On March 8, at Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, there was something incredible going on. Annie Clark, better known under the moniker St. Vincent, made her presence felt by bringing the noise and leaving everyone in awe. Jenny Hval opened the show with a memorable performance. It was the perfect way to close out the weekend with authority.

With a lot of reverb and a trip-hop synth sound, Jenny Hval came on stage to open things up and got all sorts of weird. You had these solid beats setting a groovy tone, but her abstract style had the audience captivated. On stage was a screen that had images like a girl looking as if she was nearly kissing a coil, and there were performance artists — two ladies acting like they were put under a spell while Hval was performing. At one point there was even a dangling banana. It was unique to say the least, but the music was actually pretty rad and Hval has a beautiful voice that serves as an anchor for her craft.

With the curtains closed and a robotic voice introducing the show, Clark and the rest of St. Vincent started it off with a noise pop number, “Bring Me Your Loves,” that had me hooked from the start. I was impressed by how much funk and groove they have. While performing “Cruel,” St. Vincent put on an amazing light show while getting crushingly electronic and groovy as hell. I’ll confess, it got me bobbing my head and shaking my hips a bit. After talking about the things everyone has in common and never giving up, Clark and crew kicked in “Chloe In The Afternoon” and my mind was obliterated. So much distortion to go with that clean sheen of pop really made it for me. Getting the crowd revved up for some bumpin’ synth with “Rattlesnake,” I thoroughly enjoyed the badass beats that turned Lupo’s into a cool dance party. Clark talked about her philosophy of retribution and more about what we have in common and then boom, the beat hit and “Huey Newton” took things over with vigor. Emphatic beyond compare, it was loud and intense, and everyone was loving it. Standing on a platform in epic fashion, Clark lead the rest of the band in “Cheerleader” and took everybody to church by getting grungy and noisy in the best way possible. My favorite song of the night had to be “Birth In Reverse,” a very jumpy vibe that was a fitting end to the initial performance.

The crowd wanted more, yelling like a bunch of savages craving for another dose. Clark came up solo and stood on that platform for “Strange Mercy” and then introduced her bandmates Daniel Mintseris, Toko Yasuda & Matthew Lee Johnson. Together, they ripped “Your Lips Are Red” to smithereens. Raw, unapologetic noise consumed everyone and it captivated the whole room. Clark was crowd surfing, and pandemonium infected everyone at Lupos when she stood on top of a bouncer and threw a white shawl into the crowd. This was one of the best shows I’ve ever seen, and I’ve seen a lot of shows in my time. Word on the street is that a lot of people who were at Lupo’s that night feel the same way. St. Vincent will be coming back to the New England area sooner than you think. Clark and her gang of talented musicians will perform at the Boston Calling Music Festival at Boston’s City Hall in May. If it’s going to be as good as they were at Lupo’s, then it’s something you won’t want to miss.

For more info: ilovestvincent.com