Droll stage chemistry by perfect indie pair
Could there be a dreamier Nerdboy / Nerdy Girl dream date than an evening with David Byrne and St. Vincent? If there is, it’s pretty hard to imagine. Although they might be separated by 30 years and two altogether remote New York hipster scenes, the former Talking Heads front man and the iconoclastic indie crush Annie Clark made for an unusually perfect pair at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre on Thursday night. The oddball duo’s recent collaborative album, Love This Giant, takes getting used to, no question. On record, their brass-powered experiments in stiff-limbed anti-funk are often as awkward as they are engaging. They make far more sense onstage, however, thanks in no small part to the droll chemistry these two committed weirdos transmit when they’re caught in the spotlight together. Byrne, 60, and Clark, 29, are clearly having a blast with this creative partnership, slowly hatched over the past three years, and they’re both smart enough to know that the best way to indulge in potentially insufferable art-pop pursuits such as these is to do it with a smile and a wink — not to mention a whole lot of self-consciously foolish choreography.
The discipline required to pull off this spectacle notwithstanding, neither Byrne nor Clark nor anyone in their 10-piece touring band were treating their efforts with utmost gravity. Band members gamely marched in time to the music, in circles or back and forth up and down the stage, while Byrne and Clark stood at the microphones trading meshed vocals, lickety-slick guitar lines and a variety of poses through an endlessly entertaining program that interspersed tunes from Love This Giant with fond favourites from each of their personal catalogues.
Byrne deferred to Clark on both guitar and lead vocals for most of the night, an uncommonly generous move for a star of his stature. He’s obviously a fan.
Heartening to see someone like Byrne still engaged with art for art’s sake this long into the game. Even more heartening to see him bringing someone like St. Vincent up with him for the same reason.