St. Vincent Sydney Review @ Carriageworks

In place of a support act this evening was a ten-minute short called 'The Birthday Party'.

As the crowd nestled in below the high ceilings of Carriageworks (17 June), we watched this odd, little tale about a woman trying to conceal the death of her husband on the day of her daughter’s birthday.

The film was bizarre, witty and was accompanied by a brutal, though poised score. It was a welcome change and further proof of Anne Erin Clark's, aka St. Vincent, creative output: she was the director, co-writer and had a minor acting role in the film.

After a brief interlude St. Vincent took to the stage. She stood stage right below a single spotlight with the rest of the stage concealed by a curtain.

Donned in bright pink latex, St. Vincent stood in command with a mesmeric presence. Her high-heeled thigh-highs, body suit, choker and arm puffs echoed a sort of funky cat woman.



As the earlier songs progressed, the curtain made a slow reveal. It oddly unveiled nothing but two other microphones and a stage downed in pink light. To be honest I was a little let down. I was pretty keen to see a full band perform the peculiar pop I’ve come to love from St. Vincent.

Rather, it’d be a show of one woman, a backing track and her vast array of guitars. And they are 'her' guitars by the way. They’re the St. Vincent HHH signature model. Go buy one if you have the cash; they sound fantastic.

With that being said, St Vincent put on a masterclass of performance and professionalism. Any wavering thoughts I had about the performance were quickly tossed aside by a woman at the peak of her creativity and skill.

Her voice was as to be expected from a Grammy winner, world-class, and her guitar work was incredibly cool. It was percussive, quirky and just the right amount of shred.



For the majority of the show the crowd was somewhat subdued, probably due to the icy temperature outside, but each song was met with a resounding cheer upon completion.

‘Hang On Me’ saw a costume change and St. Vincent take centre stage while the music and visuals ramped up somewhat. She stood silhouetted by a large strobing screen and panning shots of bums in leotards.

‘Pills’, ‘Los Ageless’ and ‘Digital Witness’ did manage to get the crowd moving, while a stripped-back version of ‘New York’ was sung replacing words with Inner West Sydney locations. It was cool and the locals got pretty vocal about it.


On the closing night of Vivid, St. Vincent brought the house down. It’s a genuine art in itself being able to entertain a large audience with just a guitar. Especially when your tunes are known for their upbeat idiosyncrasies. Though when you’re as brilliant as St. Vincent it doesn’t seem to be an issue.

With her vast skill-set on show Annie Clark seemed genuinely humbled by the reception Sydney had given her on their Sunday evening.

St. Vincent is undoubtedly one of the world’s best pop stars. She has her creative fingers in many pies and her touch makes them all the more sweeter.