St. Vincent played no ordinary show in Dublin’s Olympia Theatre on Friday and Saturday night. A concert in three acts, the tour features a short film (Birthday Party, starring Melanie Lynskey, and co-written and directed by Annie Clark), a collection of tracks from previous albums, and latest record ‘Masseduction’ in full.

Clark’s short film ‘The Birthday Party’, in which a hilarious Melanie Lynskey attempts to get on with plans made for her daughter’s birthday celebration – despite having just found her husband slumped dead in a chair – kicks the evening off on a strangely comic note. The short mixes soft pastel visuals with heavy, almost overpowering dread-inducing drones. The aesthetic works right alongside St Vincent’s artwork and staging for the ‘Masseduction’ tour – the disembodied Stepford wife who keeps up appearances. The film is engaging and funny, and doesn’t test the patience of a two-drinks-in audience.

When St Vincent takes the stage, she is alone. Vocals, backing track, and pink PVC stiletto boots replace a live band as she appears to the left of the Olympia stage to open with Marry Me. It’s clear from the off that the evening will be an intimate affair, with not much more than spotlight changes and the addition of a platform to boast. On the other hand, she swaps out custom axes like costume changes, and cooly asserts herself as one of the best guitarists in the game.

The second act of the evening is chocked with the best of her back catalogue. Digital Witness rewards casual and devoted fans alike, while Cheerleader and Cruel make real cases for St. Vincent dropping the dead weight of a live band altogether. What a shame it would be if her guitar work wasn’t foregrounded in such a way at future shows.

Then begins the show proper. While the minimalism of the second act enhanced the art house aesthetic of the show, the third was stripped back with view to a more personal and intimate setting. Given ‘Masseduction’s rapid notoriety as Clark’s most personal album to date, this makes sense. And works brilliantly.

Though we discuss her talents as a guitarist and songwriter often, what is often left aside is are the vocal shares of a St Vincent gig. Savior and Fear The Future showcase Clark’s vocal strength, while Happy Birthday Johnny, New York, and Smoking Section are genuinely tender and affectionate. Whether she stretched her vocals with all her might, or half-whispered heartbreaking sentiments, she doesn’t miss a beat.

What could have went down as a karaoke concert, or a pop gig too minimal for your buck, was actually an exercise in the theatrics of art pop. St Vincent is not, and never has been, a pop star in the traditional sense. It is clear now, following the release of ‘Masseduction’, that her vulnerability is just another facet of her strength as a performer. She is delicate but never weak, exposed but never disarmed, and is steadily becoming one of the most important pop musicians of a generation.