The pace of the show never flagged, even on slower numbers such as “Teenage Talk,” which dropped in a quote from Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” at the end. “Digital Witness” has that sense of the city about it, while “Cruel,” another highlight early in her set, feels like an overheard conversation floating through the apartment building air shaft.Ĭlark’s look on tour this year is glam rocker – shiny black body suit, red lips and blue glittery eye shadow – which with her stylized movements on stage made her seem like a rock ’n’ roll replicant from “Blade Runner.” But beyond that cool exterior the songs burned hot with emotions, whether that was “Prince Johnny,” during which Clark slowly rolled down a set of stairs while orange strobe lights flashed, or “Actor Out of Work,” one of her earlier songs, which celebrates the obsessive, often unreasonable lure of mad love. But it’s the claustrophobic feel of her adopted hometown of New York City that really comes through in the music she makes.
Vincent grew up in Dallas (coincidentally, Badu’s hometown as well), and a song like “Rattlesnake” evokes the landscape of the Southwest. “Birth in Reverse” opened the set, the song racing along on jittery guitar lines and squelchy synths, Clark and keyboard-guitarist Toko Yasuda stutter-stepping through a bit of robotic choreography. Vincent won or lost the coin toss and opened the night, playing 15 songs over 70 minutes that demonstrated all of the things that make her such an appealing performer and musician. Badu is the polar opposite, warm and loose, her soulful grooves following the muse wherever it might soar.īut then late in Badu’s closing set it all clicked: These are two strong, determined women, independent voices with something to say – to sing – and behind the trappings of style or boundaries of genre, that’s what makes them musical sisters, smartly paired for this latest installment of KCRW’s World Festival at the Bowl. Vincent, the stage name of singer-guitarist Annie Clark, is cool and precise, her songs sharply drawn and tightly choreographed pieces of art rock. Vincent and Erykah Badu at the Hollywood Bowl on Sunday didn’t make immediate sense.
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