Review | St. Vincent’s ‘All Born Screaming’ Tour

“Beautiful, Fluttery … and Eviscerating” Show at the Greek Theater

St. Vincent | Photo: Courtesy

“In Los Ageless, the winter never comes.”

These were the first words I heard from rock princess St. Vincent as I watched her get a nose job, stick her leg out of a television, and pull her face apart in the song’s bright neon music video. Donning a perfect haircut, she moved around various meticulously crafted set pieces, blankly staring at the camera as she sang the words.

I remember being mesmerized, loving how each verse felt tense and visual (“burn the pages of unwritten memoirs … girls in cages playing their guitars”) and the hooks burst into an explosion of feeling (“How can anybody have you and lose you and not lose their minds, too?”). An immensely talented singer, songwriter, and musician (she is well-known for shredding on electric guitar), St. Vincent became famous for her theatrical and daring creative works, crafting songs that feel like you have no clue what’s going to happen next. Her visuals are almost eerily perfect, with every hair in place, every pose camera ready, and every outfit perfectly tailored. It’s a mix of factors that grabs the attention of a listener, as if to say, “You are, by association, cool for being into this.”

This past week, I was able to see St. Vincent perform in “Los Ageless” at The Greek Theater, where she played a set that elicited similar emotions as the track: tense and visual, yet dripping in feeling. She wore an all-black outfit, but with large shoulder accents that made her look almost robotic. Visually bold, mixing an enticing balance of outrageous and classy, St. Vincent strutted around an archway with neon colors splayed across the background of the stage. And, even when she was convulsing with her entire body on the floor during an instrumental break halfway through the show, she made sure to smile and warmly interact with the crowd during the slower ballad “New York.”

St. Vincent started the show with “Reckless,” which showed off her powerful vocal chops. She had a full band behind her, and would hold a pose, switch to another, then slowly dip with the mic as she sang a vocal line. During an older cut, “Digital Witness,” St. Vincent stepped, with a guitar player on each side of her, to the left and right, in a machine-like, campy manner. They would all say “yeah” in unison with the chorus, and she would humorously beam each time.

“People turn the TV on, it looks just like a window. Yeah,” she smirked, mocking unnamed couch potatoes living through their screens. Her guitar playing was noisy, distorted, and full of life. Other highlights included newer tracks “Flea,” “Sweetest Fruit,” and “All Born Screaming,” as well as standouts “Pay Your Way In Pain” and “Cheerleader.”

At one point, she mentioned to the crowd that she loves Los Angeles, and now considers herself a certified Angelino. St. Vincent looked genuinely touched, and remarked on how big of a deal it was to be playing the Greek, with her love for the city mixed with the audience being there to support her.

Towards the end of the show, St. Vincent introduced her band, remarking on how her guitarist played “both beautiful, fluttery things and eviscerating things.” It felt really apt for her the show itself; after all, they’re playing to her music. St. Vincent has the ability to toe the line between extremes, singing the most devastatingly poignant line, following it with the most haunting guitar sound. And the audience loved it; they screamed the words to every song. I heard a fan say, “She is the only music I’ve heard that feels entirely like me. She’s perfect.”

During aforementioned fan favorite “New York,” St. Vincent remarked to her muse that they’re the “only motherfucker in the city who can handle me.” And, while that may be true, they clearly aren’t the only ones completely fanatic for her.