Annie Clark better known as St. Vincent and David Byrne gave a memorable performance.
Hipsters, punk rock fans, jazz fans and classic rock fans alike all congregated at the Wellmont Theatre on Wednesday, June 12, to see and hear David Byrne of Talking Heads fame and Annie Clark, a.k.a. St. Vincent, take the stage and give the fans everything they had in their system.
There were some separate fans of David Byrne and Annie Clark, but when the two collaborated, everyone was pleased, dancing and rocking out.
Before the performance began, David Byrne announced that he believed the point of the show was to capture the memories in the mind and with the eyes, rather than using gadgets. He made sure that fans rarely used their gadgets during the show by combining a stunning mixture of jazz, pop, dance, swing and various minor theatrics.
David Byrne and Annie Clark kicked off the show with two of their collaborations, “Who” and “Weekend in the Dust.” However, not all the songs performed were their collaborations from their 2012 album, “Love This Giant.” David Byrne and band joined Annie Clark for two of her songs off 2009’s “Actor,” called “Save Me from What I Want” and “Marrow.” After that, Annie Clark told the audience that she and David Byrne have rehearsed at the Wellmont, and they felt ecstatic and honored to be actually performing there.
During “Stranger,” a collaboration they did with Brian Eno, the band put on minor theatrics by dancing around David Byrne and Annie Clark while they respectively sang and played hand drums. After “Ice Age,” Byrne announced that he was going to perform a song that no one on stage has ever performed live, including himself. To the fans’ surprise and amazement they performed a different rendition of the Talking Heads’ “Wild Wild Life,” with Annie Clark handling some solo vocal parts.
Annie Clark performed some of her other St. Vincent works, such as “Cheerleader,” “Champagne Year” and “Cruel,” all three of which are found on her most recent album, 2011’s “Strange Mercy.” Some fans shouted requests for each performer, such as “Psycho Killer” from the Talking Heads and “Marry Me” from St. Vincent.
During “Burning Down the House,” not one person in the audience was seated. Everyone was either dancing with significant others and friends, or just standing there mesmerized.
“Wild Wild Life” and “Burning Down the House” were not the only surprises Byrne and company gave the fans. They played tricks on their fans several times throughout the night. In several instances, everyone left the stage with their appropriate instruments, said, “Thank you for coming,” and had the lights turned off. The crowd was about to leave, but suddenly froze when the band came back onstage. This may be their way of keeping fans coming back for more.
After the show actually did end, many flocked to the merchandise table to snap up vinyl records, CD’s, T-shirts and other treasures from Byrne, Clark and some solo projects from the other band members.
Some fans emerged from the theatre dancing and singing along down Bloomfield Avenue. Hopefully, David Byrne, St. Vincent and company will come back to the Wellmont someday.
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