by Michael McCarthy
Last night I was fortunate enough to catch St. Vincent’s one off performance with The Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston. The audience appeared to be a mix of St. Vincent fans and Boston Pops patrons, creating an unusual but welcome blend of concertgoers. The show was conducted by Jules Buckley, who conducted the show that St. Vincent recently released as a live album called LIVE IN LONDON! (BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall). I’d bought the album a couple of weeks ago when it came out and I thought it sounded spectacular but I had purchased my ticket to the show prior to the release of the album. That said, having listened to the album several times already only made me more excited. Perhaps that spoiled things slightly since I already had a pretty good idea what the set list would include but I’m actually glad I was able to listen to the album first because the set included a lot of St. Vincent’s lesser known songs that didn’t stick in my head as much as the singles. If you’re wondering why she chose to perform so many deep cuts, the answer is simple: she primarily chose songs that would lend themselves best to being performed with an orchestra. Uptempo singles with big, catchy choruses wouldn’t always translate so well. To that end, I am glad that she chose to do songs that would sound best with an orchestra because the performances were all consuming and brilliant.
I’ve been to something like 250 concerts over the years and I can honestly say that last night’s show was the best sounding show I’ve ever been to. These days, I often have to wear earplugs at concerts, particularly rock concerts with loud guitars. Last night, I decided to try listening to the first song without earplugs to see if I really needed them and I absolutely did not. Was the show loud? Perhaps, moderately so. But not in an overwhelming way like the volume at rock shows can be. I am sure some of that is because of where it was performed. Symphony Hall was designed for music performances, particularly classical musical performances with dozens of musicians performing multiple instruments. It was obvious to me that the venue was designed in such a way that you can hear every instrument fully, the venue giving the songs breathing room enough for you to truly hear every instrument, whereas guitars and drums can drown out everything else at rock shows.
St. Vincent did play the guitar on about two thirds of the songs, but when she did, it was loud enough to hear it well but it never drowned out the orchestra one bit. I’ve heard live albums that various bands have done with orchestras in the past and usually the guitars drown out much more of the orchestration than I would like. I can understand a rock band wanting the guitars to be front and center in their usual music but when it comes to orchestral albums, I always wish the orchestra was more prominent in the mix. If St. Vincent wanted to, she obviously could have had her guitar louder, but she clearly wanted to optimize everything to sound great with the various strings, woodwind and brass instruments that were played last night.
I didn’t count everyone in The Boston Pops but it looked like there were around 60 people on the stage. Violins, flutes, trumpets – the show seemed to have it all. There was also a drummer and an additional percussionist as well as piano player. Off to the side of the stage, there was an even someone playing a harp. You didn’t hear the harp during every moment of every song but it sounded wonderful when it was played during certain moments.
The show kicked off with “We Put a Pearl in the Ground.” Had I not already heard the live album, I would have been rather surprised to hear her begin the show with that song, much of which is decidedly mellow but the beauty of it was that it started off sounding delicate and restrained but it grew in intensity as the song went on, ultimately climaxing as something very powerful. Next up was “Hell is Near” from her most recent studio album, All Born Screaming. The first 60 percent or so of the show was generally comprised of deep cuts, songs that aren’t as obviously catchy but that sounded exquisite with the orchestra. The second part of the show focused on singles and other songs that are more immediate and infectious. This part of the show included some of my personal favorites, such as “Digital Witness,” “Los Ageless” and “New York.” During these songs, people clapped along and danced in their seats. And it happened at precisely the right time. Had she not upped the tempo and switched to songs that could engage people in that way, she would’ve run the risk of people getting exhausted by the end of the show. Watching the first part of it, you felt compelled to sit quietly and listen to the orchestra. It didn’t really call for audience participation at all, aside from clapping when the songs ended. With the final chunk of the show, everyone was engaged and part of it.
I admittedly spent a good portion of the night watching conductor Jules Buckley. He conducted the orchestra without a baton, simply using his arms and hands to guide the musicians through the performance. It was fascinating to watch how the orchestra responded to him. I am not at all knowledgable about how conductors do what they do but it seemed like larger gestures created more intensity and a louder volume. Subtle gestures, in turn, seemed to result in quieter sounds. The members of the orchestra had sheet music that they often looked at but I have a feeling that they had rehearsed the show at least once with Buckley. I just don’t think that every note could have sounded that perfect and well-timed if they hadn’t run through it at all prior to the show. That said, St. Vincent is doing a small tour, performing with different orchestras in different cities, and that requires Buckley to be at every show conducting, which means that he couldn’t have been there rehearsing with The Boston Pops for more than a few days because of the other shows he had to conduct elsewhere.
The only music performance with an orchestra that I had previously seen was Craig Armstrong opening for Massive Attack at Bercy in Paris in 1999. That was another show that sounded exceptionally perfect but Bercy is a big arena, not a classical music venue, so the sound was superb but I would have to say that last night’s St. Vincent show sounded even better. I actually think that last night’s show sounded better than a studio album. And I almost always prefer the way studio albums sound. I love concerts and kind of live for live music, but when I’m at home, I don’t listen to live albums very often. I prefer the sound of a polished studio record. But somehow last night’s show sounded even better. The instruments had breathing room and depth that you normally just don’t get when you listen to an album at home, even if you have an excellent surround sound system.
Before the show, advertisements were for upcoming shows at Symphony Hall were shown on a large screen that was retracted before St. Vincent performed. One of the images stated that taking photos or videos was not allowed. I read that and almost laughed, thinking there was no way people were going to refrain from taking photos and filming videos because I’ve been to other concerts where they said that wasn’t allowed and most people ignored the rule and had their phones out much of the time anyway. I always hate to see that because it’s like people are too busy trying to capture the show to actually be present in the moment and enjoy it. It’s like some people go to concerts just to create content for social media and their Youtube channels. Much to my surprise, though, last night people followed the rules. At least right up until the encore then I did see people here and there with their phones out. I suppose by that point they figured that the Symphony Hall staff wouldn’t boot them out of the venue for it. As for me, I was seated on the upper balcony so I would not have been able to get any good photos anyway so I didn’t take out my phone once until the show was entirely over. I also have to say that I was actually glad that I was on the balcony because it enabled me to see everything perfectly. If I had been on the floor, I probably would’ve spent the whole time watching Annie Clark (St. Vincent’s actual name) and little else. But from the balcony, I could really watch Jules Buckley and the many musicians as easily as I could see Annie. It would have been nice to have been closer in the sense that I couldn’t see the expressions on Annie’s face from the balcony but it was still nice to have a bird’s-eye view and watch how everyone contributed to what I was hearing.
If I could make one minor complaint it would be that they did not appear to be selling any merchandise last night. That said, today I received an e-mail advertising merch for this tour so I will be able to order a t-shirt, which makes me happy. It doesn’t say that it was a show with The Boston Pops but it does have the tour dates on the back at least. It says that these items are for pre-ordering and will ship in July. You can order them here: https://ilovestvincent.com/?utm_id=01KSK16HR6Z0Y2DY2PNX8BPPPE&_kx=7muRp2K8sr1GaLrNYBiwsTRN1nh1D_YpXLrwTiKf4QQ.RugpML
If St. Vincent is doing one of these orchestral shows in your neck of the woods, I would highly recommend it. If all you listen to is classical music, you might find it a bit odd but if you’re a fan of St. Vincent I am certain that you would absolutely love it. I know I did. While I’ve attended hundreds of concerts over the years, very few immediately earned a place among the best-sounding shows I’ve ever experienced. St. Vincent’s performance with the Boston Pops was not only one of them but the best.
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