St. Vincent shows a lot of 'Mercy'

This might sound like I'm only trying to be funny and crude, but I seriously don't think anybody got up to pee during the entirety of St. Vincent's first of two sold-out concerts Sunday night at Walker Art Center's McGuire Theater. And seriously, I think that's a relevant reflection of the show.

For starters, the concert was rather short and thus not quite so bladder-testing, at 75 minutes. Also, as I state in my full review for tomorrow's paper, the theater setting was rather still and lifeless -- so much so that if I were seated anywhere beyond an aisle, I would have felt rude getting up. My seat, however, was actually in the back corner of the intimate, sleak, multi-faceted and certainly pristine-sounding McGuire space, and that's how I noticed the lack of movers and leg-shakers. But there's a positive side to this observation, too: There were also plenty of moments that were riveting and entrancing enough, a person could've easily forgotten or ignored any urge to hit the head.

Anyway, on to the set list. Annie played all but two songs off her new album, and thus only had time for one from her debut album "Marry Me" (the show closer "Your Lips Are Red"). Here's the song order:

Cheerleader / Cruel / Save Me From What I Want / Actor Out of Work / Chloe in the Afternoon / Northern Lights / Just the Same / Champagne Year / Strange Mercy / She Is Beyond Good and Evil (cover from the Pop Group) / Hysterical Strength / Year of the Tiger / Marrow / Surgeon ENCORE: The Party / Your Lips Are Red