St. Vincent’s Robot Dancing

St. Vincent’s Robot Dancing

This is the second time I’ve seen St. Vincent play a festival on the heels of last year’s self-titled release, which makes this the second time I’ve seen Annie Clark’s hyper-choreographed dance routine. I remember seeing St. Vincent around the time that Strange Mercy came out, when Clark was up on a stage wearing a nice but “normal” ensemble and moving to the rhythm of her strange and acerbic brand of pop. This current St. Vincent is a different incarnation, one that springs for costume and pageantry, and she’s just as enjoyable to watch, especially on such a grand stage. Clark has an angular dance move to accompany every song off of St. Vincent, but my favorite moment arrived when she covered part of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus,” which has been done dozens of times, but this version made the interlude sound like it was written for that record.