A Sunday afternoon in Central Park is hard to beat. Unless, of course, you throw in a free concert featuring three of indie rock’s most talented female-fronted groups – Basia Bulat, Tune-Yards, and St. Vincent. Such was the scene on the first day of August, as hundreds gathered to enjoy some trees and some tunes in America’s most visited urban park. The overcast day didn’t scare off the crowds, the rain held off, and three ladies treated Central Park’s Summer Stage crowd to an afternoon that was pretty close to perfect.
I originally hadn’t planned on getting to Summer Stage in time to see Basia Bulat – her sleepy set at Emo’s during SXSW was good, but not exactly the vibe I was going for on my Sunday afternoon. A confluence of events brought me to Central Park early, though, and I was pleasantly surprised to find her more animated this time around. Bulat herself acknowledged that her tunes don’t fit every situation. “I’m going to play my autoharp,” she told the crowd, “even though it’s not very rock and roll.”
Bulat has an impressive voice to go with her autoharp skills, which makes for a powerful combination. With Allison Stewart adding welcome texture to the songs on viola and Bobby Bulat (Basia’s brother) on drums, the band spiced up the tunes for an upbeat set. Even a cover of Abner Jay’s “I’m So Depressed” came with a twinkle in the eye. Basia closed with “Goldrush,” a song she described as “fun to play in a pastoral-urban setting.” She wasn't the only one having fun, and by the end of the set the crowd was completely converted.
Next up on Summer Stage was Tune-Yards, my most anticipated act of the trio. Merrill Garbus, the brains behind the nom-de-stage, is a vision in concert – a lesson in how to create captivating music in a live setting. Using looping pedals, her impressive voice, a ukulele, and a couple of floor drums, Garbus weaves disparate samples into fascinating and cohesive songs. Want to see a white girl in a flowery dress get a crowd of people to bump like a hip hop show? Go see Tune-Yards perform.
After getting the crowd to jump up and down during the second song of the set, “What's That About,” Garbus noted that playing Central Park was a “high point in life.” “It’s pretty amazing,” she said, “to look and see my mom and dad jumping in the back of the crowd.” It wasn’t the only familial moment in the show; later in her set she had the crowd shout “Grandpa Lou!” in unison, in honor of her 93 year-old grandfather who was opening a gallery of his photography at the same time as the concert.
Musically, Tune-Yards was as on-point as ever, toeing the line between cacophony and complexity with a dexterity rarely found. During a handful of songs, Garbus was joined on stage by two percussion players, a guitarist, and three brass players, in addition to her usual bassist Nate Brenner. Although they overpowered Garbus on “Gangsta,” they soon found their groove in a better balanced mix. On “Sunlight,” they absolutely shredded, adding dashes of color to Tune-Yards’ already technicolor soundscape.
Although the band provided nice depth, Garbus was at her best when she was on stage alone. Standout track “Hatari” was an exercise in brilliance, a chance to see Garbus alone on stage working her craft. She pushed her voice to the limit, sing-shouting with a passion that was contagious. During a particularly open-throat portion of the chorus, she imitated the all-too-familiar cadence and tone of a car alarm. “That,” she told the crowd, “was my New York special.” And special it was.
The third act to take the stage was St. Vincent, fronted by the gorgeous Annie Clark and backed by an orchestral-tinged band. With flute, clarinet, cello, violin, viola, and as many as four saxophones on-stage courtesy of the yMusic Ensemble and various other assembled musicians, the set was rich and lush. Clark’s voice is positively divine – at her strongest moments she recalls Bardot and Bush. The set was a strong one, including the first ever live performance of “The Neighbors,” the third track off of St. Vincent’s beautiful sophomore release, Actor.
At the front of the stage, Clark was alternately collected and convulsive; when she sang she was smooth and calm, only to step away and twitchily strum her guitar. She is not so different from another fidgety frontman – Dave Longstreth of Dirty Projectors comes immediately to mind when watching her play. Where his voice is stretched and stressed, though, hers is nothing but confident. She anchors the band perfectly, allowing them to comfortably live in both the classical and rock and roll spheres simultaneously. St. Vincent launched into encore “The Party” as the sun began to set in Central Park, and it all seemed to fall right into place.
