Culture | Music “Show of hands, who has a Prince Albert?” These were some of the first – and only – words spoken by St. Vincent at the Royal Albert Hall on Saturday evening. Interestingly, the number of hands raised was not insignificant.
The Oklahoma-born alt-rock sensation brought together an odd jumble of fans for the only London stop on her All Born Screaming tour. The crowd ranged from overtly loved-up couples in their 40s (the singer herself is 41), to older ex-rocker types, plus a smattering of intimidating, Matrix-inspired art school students. There were also, of course, many lesbians – who have largely claimed St.
Vincent as their own since she publicly dated both Kristen Stewart and Cara Delevigne (the musician describes herself as sexually ‘fluid’). And really, what better way to kick-off Pride month than with a sapphic heroine emerging as a silhouette, through the shining archway of a church door? At least, that was briefly the illusion. Opening with the haunting piano pangs of Reckless, the second track from her eighth studio album All Born Screaming, the stage came alive as the song reached its dramatic crescendo.
From there on out, the dark, pulsing energy remained consistent. The shapeshifting star stayed true to this era’s newest, brooding character, wearing a skirt-suit that matched the colour of her raven hair, cinched at the waist but never preventing her from rolling about the stage or falling to her knees. She returned to her 2017 album M.
