Earlier this year singer-songwriter and art-rocker St. Vincent released her newest album, All Born Screaming. It quickly became my top album of the year, closely beating out Impossible Light by Uboa. As such, when St. Vincent announced that she would be performing at the Anthem on September 13th, I obviously needed to get tickets.

Now, I know what you all are thinking. Anya, what did YOU think of the concert? Well, to put it simply, it was absolutely amazing. St. Vincent is an excellent musician and guitarist, but she’s also a vibrant performer. St. Vincent engaged in a lot of classic rock n’ roll showmanship; laying down on her back when really getting into one of her guitar solos or jumping down into the audience, all of which made for an even more engaging and energetic show. St. Vincent is a damn good guitarist and the concert did a good job demonstrating that. The performance of her backing band was also solid, but I don’t have too much else to say about them.

Some of the highlights of the show were the opening song “Reckless,” a tribute to the late great avant-pop producer/musician SOPHIE in the form of the song “Sweetest Fruit,” an excellent drum solo at the end of “Cheerleader,” the extremely catchy “Pay Your Way in Pain,” as well as great performances of “Broken Man,” “Birth in Reverse,” and “Digital Witness.” The whole performance was spectacular, but these songs were just the ones that really stuck out to me. 

Final Concert Rating: 10/10 (also everyone should listen to St. Vincent, she’s awesome). •