Music

St. Vincent shreds and sparkles above the Strip at Cosmopolitan’s Boulevard Pool

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Photo: Al Powers/Powers Imagery

Three and a half stars

St. Vincent April 10, Boulevard Pool at the Cosmopolitan

Moments before Annie Clark charms fans with reckless-yet-poised abandon, the crowd anticipates the art-rock star’s Las Vegas debut. The show isn't sold out, but it's also far from empty, and everyone's here to witness the same thing: St. Vincent building, then destroying, everything in her wake.

Clark and her three-piece band eventually take their positions, the singer smiling at the front of the stage, her signature gray hair replaced with natural black curls. For the next hour and 40 minutes, we watch as she shreds and sparkles above the Strip, shuffling across the stage like a swank Medusa in pointy heels and a shimmering, sequined mini-dress. Opening with “Bring Me Your Loves,” she tears at the strings of her electric guitar, the first of many in her arsenal.

St. Vincent at Cosmopolitan’s Boulevard Pool

During Strange Mercy cut “Cruel,” Clark’s band bares its poppier side with a loose, cheery arrangement that bounces around aerodynamic guitar licks. “Good evening, ladies and gentleman,” Clark says, welcoming the “freaks and degenerates”—a monologue she delivers during most sets, then personalizes for the crowd. Soon she’s talking about strapping Domino’s pizza boxes to her arms and flying over the Strip’s faux Eiffel Tower.

Along with a handful of older tunes, we get almost all of 2014's St. Vincent, including the frenetic “Birth in Reverse,” the jovial “Rattlesnake” and ballads like “Prince Johnny” and “I Prefer Your Love.” Between hyperbolic, robotic choreography, screeching riffs and computer-heavy sonics, Clark hits us over the head with digital awareness: Technology is more present in our lives now than ever. Somehow, St. Vincent manages to make this tech-laden show feel purely analog, and we’re repaying her by abandoning the brick in our pockets, foregoing the record button to experience the real thing. It speaks volumes about Clark’s ability to hypnotize and use performance art to capture her audience. Like the world’s greatest illusionists, St. Vincent leaves us to contemplate reality long after the show is over—and something tells me that was part of her plan all along.

Set list:

"Bring Me Your Loves"

"Digital Witness"

"Cruel"

"Marrow"

"Every Tear Disappears"

"I Prefer Your Love"

"Rattlesnake"

"Actor Out of Work"

"Year of the Tiger"

"Huey Newton"

"Surgeon"

"Cheerleader"

"Prince Johnny"

"Regret"

"Birth in Reverse"

Encore:

"Chloe in the Afternoon"

"Your Lips Are Red"

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