St. Vincent performing ‘The Party’ in Asheville, NC.

Hi. I have something to get off my chest and its tl;dr but I have seriously been keeping it in for over two and a half years. (new followers beware I’m serving some deeply nerdy fan realness)

Being a fan since 2007 and seeing songs grow and change has been a really fun thing to see/hear. Not to mention observing how a performer has grown; subtle and unsubtle changes in the live performances. Annie recently credited Byrne with becoming more fearless. Which I can totally see. But she deserves a lot of the credit too. I was obsessed with the huge performance shift I saw towards the end of 2011, and the huge evolution of Your Lips Are Red. I LOVE love love that it was with this song from ‘Marry Me’ that she (to the best of my knowledge) first ventured out into the crowd. And she continued to, further and further until Webster Hall, when she, appearing hesitant at first, plunged into the crowd. Soon there was KROKODIL. And it was all over after that. The band she assembled for ‘Strange Mercy,’ really loosened up and it was so incredible to compare the early show I went to with the later one. I felt like I witnessed a huge evolution for Annie.

I really love ‘Love This Giant’ but didn’t catch the first leg of LTG tour and I won’t be able to see this leg either. But if you can, please DO. In 2007 I thought this was someone at their best, I was so enamored with the sound that filled my ears years ago. But she has only gotten better and better with each album. Sharing doesn’t always come naturally to me but I’m sitting here at 400am listening to this version of ‘The Party’ really inspired and so grateful that she continues to push herself and express herself artistically. This version even feels and sounds a little different than the last leg. Vocally she sounds unleashed and free. I read a review recently noting her range and it’s totally apparent she was hiding a little something from all of us vocally. She is boundlessly surprising and talented. Years ago I felt as if I was hearing someone at the top of their game but even these days it feels like we are only scratching the surface. And that, is really incredible and exciting to see and hear these days. Genius in her own right.