It’s obvious that St Vincent is here to absolutely rip your face off using her guitar alone.

Annie Clark is often quoted in interviews (including ours with her back in June) as saying that she thinks the real measure of a musician is their live show. With no auto-tune or Photoshop to hide behind, playing live strips back everything to its truest form (or as true as it gets these days). With her damning opinion in mind, when we saw St Vincent was coming to town we knew it was a show not to be missed. Strange, interesting, untouchable Annie soon proved that we weren’t wrong.

Playing the just out of reach intergalactic rock star is where Clarke really excels. From the crushing end of opener ‘Rattlesnake’ it’s obvious that St Vincent is here to absolutely rip your face off using her guitar alone. It’s weirdly emotional to watch. She’s incredibly poised while she’s unleashing this onto the crowd, and she seems extremely self-assured while seamlessly gliding through most of newest album Digital Witness. Some of the songs that sound drab on record absolutely come to life live, and it’s wonderful to watch how Annie has thought out choreography to the songs.

Saying this, sometimes the show feels over-scripted. When Clarke launches into her cosmic version of onstage banter, it’s obviously been rehearsed and re-rehearsed, and the content is a little on the gratingly quirky side. However, while the chat feels somewhat forced, the robotic perfection of the show’s choreography really lends itself to the near-future cult leader persona Clarke is trying to achieve.

That said, it’s only nearing the end does the show itself as what it really is: iconic. From throwing water over the stage floor in an ecstatic fit of fun to revelling in forcing her guitar tech into an endless solo, Annie comes alive after the encore. To see a woman become such a Bowie-like force of nature before your eyes is nothing short of inspiring. She is everything a great showman should be: strong-willed, full of fun and forever energised. The show shoots out the knees of anything you might be thinking about it. Feel free to think it’s going to be good, but absolutely expect the unexpected from the queen of the supernatural who puts everything into her show and drains every drop from a jaw-dropped crowd. Completely exhilarating.

Check out ‘Digital Witness’ right here: