Jolie Holland w/ St. Vincent @ Schubas 01.23.07

There was someone I just had to see on Tuesday night, her name is Annie Clark, best known for her lead guitar work with Polyphonic Spree. Her new solo project St. Vincent had the pleasure of opening up for the wonderfully erratic Jolie Holland. Rushing my way from work to an early 6PM show at Schubas, I came in as St. Vincent began to play. Annie stood all alone center stage, with a two microphone setup, various guitar pedals, donning a pair of white tap shoes. Having only heard her intriguing Paris Is Burning EP, I wasn't quite sure what to expect from her live performance. Annie is definitely an innovator, capable of creating complex soundscapes with her extraordinary guitar playing, the pounding of her hard-soled heels adding a bombastic dissonance, over which her elegant voice rises above and distorts depending on which mic she sang into. "They're a team..." as she referred to her two mic setup: one for her calm-evoking harmonies; the other for the echo-y, noise-filled, grittiness that contrasts her natural voice, but compliments her overall sound very nicely. She ended her short set with the title track off her EP "Paris is Burning", a gorgeous song that feels like a funeral dirge to a dying city. There were times her guitar sounded as if it longed to be a church organ, which fell so warmly on my ears. Her set further instilled in me a longing to hear her full length, which is tenatively scheduled for a Spring 2007 release. St. Vincent will be back in Chicago: February 14th, for two shows with Midlake at Schubas & April 13th, with John Vanderslice at Lakeshore Theater.

Download: St. Vincent - "Paris is Burning"

After an impromptu acupuncture session on her ears, Jolie Holland, dressed like a bohemian hermit, sat with her guitar center stage delivering an enchanting set of songs off of Escondida and her recent release Springtime Can Kill You. A founding member of the Be Good Tanyas, she has made quite a name for herself as talented young singer-songwriter, earning nods from Tom Waits. This acclaim is much deserved, her voice and self-taught musical ability dwarf a multitude of artists that have gained notoriety in the past decade, though her one minor downfall might be her perfectionist mindset during performance. She halted a few songs and commented between songs that it sounded like crap and she couldn't hear herself. She took time to adjust levels her, and rotate her amp there. In truth, it sounded fine (save for the rattling of drum head every now and then). She had the full support of the audience, who really just wanted to hear her sing. I'm sure her attitude could be misconstrued as diva behavior, but I admire her determination to present the very best sounding set. Her style of jazz, folk and americana is quite pleasing to the ears. There is a very familiar tone and mood to her music, though her voice is uniquely her own. You can't help but notice the way she molds how words are formed on her lips. Her voice is draped in a weary somber that is motivated by the heart, which was well displayed in the performance of "Mexican Blue." Jolie ended the night with a stirring rendition of "Old Fashioned Morphine", which is based on a Blind Willie McTell version of "Old Time Religion". Though it's lyrics are simple, there is a quaint sadness in this voice settling for the last resort cure for a world about to end. "Gimme that old fashioned morphine... It was good enough for Billy Burroughs, It's good enough for me..." Though Jolie probably ranked this performance very low, it was definitely good enough for me.

Download: Jolie Holland - "Old Fashioned Morphine"