Sasquatch 2015, Day 3: St. Vincent

On stage Annie Clark, or as she's known, St. Vincent, is like an alluring, otherworldly android. She skitter steps around rapidly on high stiletto heels, staring blankly and doe-eyed, smiling at odd times while tearing through guitar lines seemingly effortlessly. Much of her show seems almost choreographed, moves precise, robotic, and at times in unison with her rhythm guitar player/keyboardist. Hers is a very conscious stage presence, each strange move intentional, and it is completely captivating. But her set on the Sasquatch main stage proved her to be not just an engaging performer, but an excellent musician as well; Clark is the complete package. Her confident guitar lines lead the way on her early hit "Cruel", and the single "Digital Witness" from her 2014 self-titled album was very danceable over the massive, bass-heavy sounds coming from the stage. Her set was fairly light on stage banter, but when she finally spoke she said, "good evening ladies and gentlemen, and a special welcome to the others, and the queers, and the dominatrixes, and the dominated of Washington State," before launching in to "Huey Newton", drawing her fingers across her exposed neck in a throat slitting pantomime. At one point she briefly handed her guitar to an audience member and surfed over the excited crowd. When she finally returned to the stage, she collapsed dramatically, laying almost perfectly still on for several long beats before finally rising to a kneeling position as a tech draped her with a new guitar. It's theatrical moments like these that make St. Vincent such a stellar live act.