St. Vincent w/Scout Niblett & Katie Stelmanis @ The Horseshoe

Friday was a night of complete female eclecticism as St. Vincent and a few others took to the stage at The Legendary Horseshoe in downtown Toronto.

I arrived partway through the set of local girl Katie Stelmanis. Although she was equipped with what appeared to be only a synthesizer, she managed to pull out a vast array of interesting prerecorded sounds that gave her show a bit of a new age feel. Coming across to me as sort of a female Phillip Glass, I have to admit that I had a little trouble getting into her sound right away. Her operatic voice seemed to thrill the crowd however, and towards the end of her set I was finally starting to appreciate her sound more fully. She closed off her set with a cover of "You Make Me Feel Like A Natural Woman", which could not have sounded any further from the original if it was performed by Tom Waits. Which, to me, is a good thing.

Downloads:
You'll Fall mp3 / Roll mp3
I only managed to take a few pics but you can find them here, on flickr of course.

Only discovering Scout Niblett's music on Friday night has me wondering what right I have to pretend to be at all knowledgeable. She had many devoted fans at the show, and upon doing more research I came to realize that this is not just a newcomer to the indie rock scene. Her first album was released in 2001, and she has often been compared to the likes of Cat Power or PJ Harvey. However if I may make a bold statement, I even heard doses of Kurt Cobain in her music. In an era where the idea of a grunge sound has suddenly become dated, watered-down and forever synonymous with the 90's, Scout's music sounded vital and current. I feel that it's exactly what is needed to re-energize what was once viewed as a means to bring realism back into a stagnant music scene.

Downloads:
Uptown Top Ranking mp3 / Drummer Boy mp3
Hear some more recent recordings over on her myspace page.
View my Scout Niblett pics on flickr.

St. Vincent put on a significantly different show than the last time I saw her, opening for Midlake. That was a stripped down affair; only Annie, a guitar, a piano and her impeccable wit. This time she had a four piece band with her, and the banter, while still there, was kept to a minimum. Yes, this time around it was solely about the music and she put on a powerhouse performance. For those who have listened to her CD, there is an awful lot going on there. One has to wonder how that sort of strong production could possibly be duplicated on stage. She of course, had no problem, making full use of the massive amounts of pedals and gadgets, in order to convey her point. These included some sort of mannequin arm turned into a handclap and bass drum machine, and also a simple board, perfect for stomping on in a maniacal fashion. She is simply rabid on the guitar, delicate on the keys, and always compelling to watch. Besides all that was going on onstage, she did return to the intimacy of her last show during the encore, when she pulled out an amazing cover of Jackson Browne's "These Days", (popularly recorded by Nico.)

Downloads:
Now Now mp3
St. Vincent's myspace page.
My St. Vincent pictures from the show on flickr.