Wednesday 07/11/07 The National, St Vincent @ Shepherd's Bush Empire

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Funny thing, sitting down at concerts. On the one hand you traditionally enjoy comparatively unrestricted views and access to bars/toilets/nearest fire escape, which can, if the band are lethargic enough, lend a certain sleepy pleasure to a gig. On the other hand, you’re still miles removed from the action, and unless a band is lively enough to raise the huddled masses of the cheap seats to their feet, it can seem, well, pretty lifeless.  And, as Gigwise stares down from the unfamiliar surroundings of the gilded balcony of the Shepherd’s Bush Empire, two of the best, if most disparate, acts to cross the Atlantic this year are busy trying to tease a reluctant crowd into a fervour.

Annie Clark, better known as ethereal-folk-come-experimental-blues-rawk chick St Vincent, cannot do enough to goad the stifling atmosphere in the top deck into action. Standing alone in a blistering spotlight, the former Sufjan Stevens and the Polyphonic Spree guitarist looks lost, and as soon as she begins her set it becomes obvious that, even from here, the Empire isn’t the right venue for her. Attempting – and very nearly succeeding – to recreate the esoteric beauty of her debut album ‘Marry Me’ with just an electric guitar, a reverb mike and a small robotic box of tricks, her miraculous songs are lost here, swallowed by a cavernous theatre. Perhaps it’s just that she’s further away than we’re used to, but her dark, sassy songs seem distant and often nondescript tonight.

This is not to say the waif-like Clark, who could pass for PJ Harvey’s younger sister, both vocally and physically, does not enthral at points. ‘Jesus Saves, I Spend’ is as joyous on record and here displays a hitherto unknown talent for full-on Jack White baiting blues guitar riffage. However, Jack always has the bombast of Meg behind him, and Annie’s attempts to go it alone are often undermined by a lack of depth, like on single ‘Paris Is Burning’, which menaces and waltzes on record, but only stutters here. Closer ‘Now Now’ is the best song she plays all night – finally managing to marry the difficult task of teasing a full bands-worth of musical inspiration out of her robot companion. For better results, a gig later this month at Bush Hall with a full band should show her in a better light.