NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
Whether it’s writing and performing her critically acclaimed music, stretching the boundaries of fashion which often maintaining a very classic look, breaking stereotypes by becoming one of the most accomplished guitarist of any generation, or collaborating with Spotify on an escape room event for fans to promote her sixth studio album Masseduction, St. Vincent has clearly earned the term “artist”. Her latest record All Born Screaming (released in April 2024) is no different. Written during the throes of the Covid 19 pandemic, some of it can be quite dark as she was dealing with death and loss but some songs can actually sound optimistic as well. Her earlier music, as with that of an early influence and collaborator, David Byrne of Talking Heads, was experimental and could be a bit “out there”, and while chart success was not always there, music critics were always extremely receptive. A year later, the second run of her All Born Screaming tour finally hit North America, including her April 13th stop at Stage AE in Pittsburgh.
The opener for the Pittsburgh show was LA-based singer/songwriter Wallice Hana Watanabe. Her white makeup was very apropos to her playing mostly songs from her debut studio album The Jester. At times, she danced in circles around the stage, enjoying the performance aspect. Her music hasn’t quite resonated with me yet so it may take a few listens to make my own determination but she did play a nice eleven song set that the crowd enjoyed.
Click on photos to enlarge
St Vincent opened with a totally dark stage with just one spotlight from behind illuminating her silhouette for the crowd. Theatrics have always been a part of St Vincent shows (also like David Byrne), whether it’s backup singers play acting a scene, masks on the band, artsy videos playing in the background. The stage setup for this show was a bit more stark, although that didn’t necessarily mean it wouldn’t be a spectacle. That being said, it was definitely toned down from previous tours and much more like a straightforward rock show. Dress in short tights, topped by a long gray shirt tied around the waste with what looked like a man’s black dress belt, St Vincent played much of the first song, “Reckless” from All Born Screaming, in darkness. “I watched you all night ’til the dawn had come. And the angels came down and picked you up”. DARK!! If she meant to set an ominous mood, mission accomplished! She followed that up with “Fear the Future” and “Los Ageless” from Masseduction. Her performance was intense, chock full of hand and facial motions as she expressed herself on-stage. Her band was sharp and they all definitely looked like they were having a great time up there.
The sixteen song setlist consisted of a nice mix of new vs old songs from her discography, although mostly from All Born Screaming (as expected) and Masseduction. Her howling during “Digital Witness” was fantastic, and it was especially ironic to watch all the phones videotaping a song that makes fun of selfies and social media!! There was also a really great solo by drummer Mark Guiliana at the end of “Cheerleader”. St Vincent and her band pretty much went from one song to the next without much pause until they got to “New York”. She spoke to the crowd for a bit and thanked them for coming, alluding to the fact that they were probably all there only because “White Lotus” was over, and agreed that she would be watching as well. She also introduced the band and engaged quite a bit with the crowd. She then surprised me as she crowd surfed during “New York”, something I hadn’t expected. She had been photographed climbing and hanging from the balconies at some shows but this was something new and wonderful to see.
St Vincent only has a couple of shows left in the tour so catch her while you can. Each of her tours has a different look and vibe so you’d be experiencing something different each time!
Click on photos to enlarge
She didn’t play “Digital Witness” Although I was hoping that she would. All in all it was one of the best concerts that I’ve ended in my life! Perfect night for an evening with St. Vincent.
Really? I could have sworn…still a great show!