Jul 142011
 

Last night London’s Barbicon theater held a tribute to Tom Waits’ seminal Rain Dogs. Performers including St. Vincent and the Tiger Lillies covered every song off the game-changing record, collaborating with a backing band that included Steve Nieve on keys. High-quality videos of both their performances have cropped up on YouTube and…wow. As she so often does, St. Vincent will knock you on your ass.

St. Vincent tackled “Big Black Mariah,” which is funny, because back in May she covered the band Big Black. Her thunderous performance here is an absolute show-stopper, as she yelps and shreds through a passionate version of the bluesy stomper. The Guardian reports that she also covered “Downtown Train” and we hope to god a video of that one surfaces too.

Until then, watch the jaw-dropping “Big Black Mariah” video, along with a very theatrical clip of painted cabaret-rock band the Tiger Lillies covering “Diamonds and Gold,” below.
Update: Watch St. Vincent cover “Tango ‘Til They’re Sore” too.

St. Vincent – Big Black Mariah (Tom Waits cover)

The Tiger Lillies – Diamonds and Gold (Tom Waits cover)

St. Vincent – Tango Til They’re Sore (Tom Waits cover)

Buy the original ‘Rain Dogs’ on iTunes or Amazon.

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  8 Responses to “Watch: St. Vincent, the Tiger Lillies Perform Tom Waits Tunes in London”

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  1. […] “Rain Dogs Revisited” — a 5-night tribute tour honoring Tom Waits’ 1985 LP with live covers by St. Vincent, the Tiger Lillies, and others — debuted in France this week, complete with Annie Clark’s stunning follow-up to last month’s Big Black cover: “Big Black Mariah.” Watch footage of her performance at the London stop above (via Cover Me). […]

  2. […] “Rain Dogs Revisited” — a 5-night tribute tour honoring Tom Waits’ 1985 LP with live covers by St. Vincent, the Tiger Lillies, and others — debuted in France this week, complete with Annie Clark’s stunning follow-up to last month’s Big Black cover: “Big Black Mariah.” Watch footage of her performance at the London stop above (via Cover Me). […]

  3. […] “Rain Dogs Revisited” — a 5-night tribute tour honoring Tom Waits’ 1985 LP with live covers by St. Vincent, the Tiger Lillies, and others — debuted in France this week, complete with Annie Clark’s stunning follow-up to last month’s Big Black cover: “Big Black Mariah.” Watch footage of her performance at the London stop above (via Cover Me). […]

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