St. Vincent Performs 'Actor' and Covers at Fashion Week Gig

St. Vincent performed on a New York City rooftop Wednesday for designer Rachel Comey's spring/summer fashion show (Comey gained notice after she designed a shirt for David Bowie that the singer wore on 'Letterman'). As guests filed in on the blustery, overcast morning, Annie Clark and her band set up in the center of the roof surrounded by the makeshift catwalk, performing fluid, instrumental versions of tracks from her latest album 'Actor,' including 'Actor Out of Work' and 'The Strangers.'

The songs took on a jazz feel with Evan Smith's saxophone replacing the vocal melodies, Bill Flynn subtly working the drums and Clark, in a bright orange dress and signature red lips, plucking accompaniment on the guitar.

As the models readied, the band moved into covers territory with some instrumental tracks by the Steve Miller Band, as fellow musician guests Chris Bear and Edward Droste of Grizzly Bear took their spots in the audience. The show opened with the triumphant instrumental opening of Tom Petty's 'Free Fallin'' and a brief hitch with Clark's microphone went largely unnoticed. The band closed out the show with the oft-covered 'You Can Leave Your Hat On.'

St. Vincent will be supporting Grizzly Bear on most of their European tour, which kicks off with a sold-out show at London's Barbican Hall on Halloween. Before that, St. Vincent will be on a US tour with Andrew Bird in September and October. Droste was certainly pleased with his tourmate's performance, calling it "amazing as usual" on his Twitter feed.