I went to the St. Vincent show at Webster Hall last night and it blew my fucking mind!  I’ve never really been into big productions for shows, always feeling that to see people make their music was what shows should be about.  But St. Vincent’s lighting was ridiculous, first of all.  Fucking perfect.  Sometimes it was so understated, too, like, I knew the big climax of the song was coming and the lights didn’t follow suit.

The crowd was more hyped than any New York crowd I’ve seen since Rage Against the Machine.  New Yorkers respond well to big productions, professional work on lighting and of course, on sound…

The sound at Webster Hall was incredible.  I’ve seen shows there that sound pretty average, but last night it was incredible.  And she didn’t just sound like the record.  She took the songs from Actor and changed them, not beyond recognition, but she altered rhythmic feels and orchestrations in bold and striking ways.  At this point in her career, she has the money and the wherewithal to achieve whatever she wants, for sure, so this was really interesting to see.  Lately people have been preaching the importance of sticking to the script at shows, and while I hear where they are coming from, it’s not something I am finding easy to swallow.  I think of songs as living organisms that grow over time, evolve, and even have moods…in order for me to achieve the presence in performance that is so important, it needs to be fresh every night.  And I think my instincts are good when we are talking about when to explore and where to hit it right on like the album.

Speaking of albums, to anyone who is reading this, I want you to know that I in my own right and we as a band are starting to write a new album.  We are going to record it this winter, and it will be our debut full length.  With Ian’s growing voice in the writing process, and with this conscious effort to write a bunch of tunes…NOW…rather than take the culmination of whatever had been written previously…the sound is sure to shift and probably take on a more cohesive direction.  Can’t wait.  I’m still stoked when I listen to Live Sessions but it is time to make an album.

Thanks for reading and keeping up with us.

Aaron