The Soundtrack of my Study Abroad Journey

I think I've made it no secret that I'm a huge St. Vincent fan and also that Strange Mercy is by far my favorite release of 2011, but after yesterday I have become an even bigger fan of Annie Clark- if that's even possible. The show was held at Café de la Danse which is one of the best music venues I've been to let me tell you. I arrived at 17h30, about and hour and a half before the door were supposed to open and there was no one! Not one single soul! Which is very strange for me because I'm used to seeing people lined up hours before a show starts regardless of the artist back in the States. I had a pleasure of meeting a guy from the Philippines who also liked the same music as I do before the show and my friend, him, and I just chatted away until the doors finally opened. I bought my ticket to see St. Vincent during my second week of studying abroad, the very day they came out, so you can imagine how many different emotions were running through me when I walked into the venue and when I made my way to stand in the very front (have I mentioned how much I love not having a barrier?).


The opening act was the French duo Manuel Armstrong which were really good and also St. Vincent's back up singer. Once Annie Clark finally hit the stage I was just in awe of how beautiful she is in person. She opened the show with Surgeon which was the perfect song to open because of the guitar riffs. Words cannot even express how amazing each and every song were, seeing the passion she has for performing and also the way she plays her guitar was just mind blowing. I could keep talking about what I liked about every song, every guitar solo, and every time she would notice my friend and I jamming but then this blog post will end up looking more like an essay about Annie Clark rather than a short blog post about one of the best nights in Paris. The whole concert was spectacular, each song took on a completely different life on stage. I kind of wish the Parisian crowd would have been a but more livelier and sing along to her songs but at least they clapped enthusiastically in between songs.

Annie Clark

After the show I decided to stick around to see if I could meet her and even after the security guards kicked the 4 people trying to meet her out I still stuck around outside in the cold Parisian night. After about an hour and a half she finally came out, the 3 guys waiting for her talked to her first and then it was my turn. I went up to her and said "Hi Annie, your show was incredible," which she replied "Whoa, I was expecting a thick French accent from you." I told her how I'm an American from San Diego studying abroad and how her music has become the soundtrack to this experience which she really felt flattered by. We talked about San Diego, life in France, and finally she thanked me for knowing all her songs. She said "I saw you in the front and I wanted to thank you for singing along, it was nice seeing someone who knows all my songs," which was by far one of the best things any artist has told me- my life is presque complète. I now have a new god and her name is Annie Clark.

Me with Annie Clark. For more pictures click here.

The opening song.

I think she should re-record the Party because this version is absolutely gorgeous. For more videos click here.