Photo of Meg Myers by Colin Williams
Meg Myers has a brilliant, bizarre, and beautiful soul. With a style difficult to categorize, she has best been described as a sound somewhere between “alternative something” and “indie pop.” The evolution of her music is an unabashed revelation of her daily thoughts and ideals. Myers’ creative style bares all, from her spirituality to her sexuality. Her claim to fame, as well as her connection to her fans, is her familiarity and the raw vulnerability she demonstrates through her art. St Louis was lucky enough to experience this vulnerability on Saturday with an intimate acoustic show at Off Broadway.
Although surrounded by her most devoted fans in St. Louis, Myers appeared troubled and perhaps a bit bashful as she unceremoniously appeared on the dimly lit Off Broadway stage. She appeared fatigued as she took her seat at her piano, briefly acknowledging her crowd before launching into her set. Myers halted the show abruptly just after the intro to her third song, “Lemon Eyes,” to explain to her fans that she felt exhausted and admitted she was concerned because one of her cats (and best friends) had been recently diagnosed with a UTI and she was a “worried mama.” Myers then spoke to the audience of her terrible luck previously in St. Louis, feeling “off” that night and regrettably having to cancel a show in the city last year due to illness. After receiving some encouragement from enthusiastic fans, however, Myers agreed to manifest positive vibes and energy before continuing with her show.
She performed several tracks from her latest studio album TZIA including “Me,” “Ovaries Speak,” and “HTIS,” which was her first single released ahead of the album, about reconnecting to her sexuality. Unlike traditional concert settings, the acoustic experience allowed Myers to engage with her audience intimately as well as receive the much needed positive feedback as the show progressed. Myers livened up throughout the night as she worked her way through more well-known songs in her discography such as “Numb,” “Monster,” and her wildly popular re-imagination of Kate Bush’s “Running Up That Hill (A Deal With God).” Myers has an astonishingly unapologetic vocal range with an authenticity best experienced at a smaller venue like Off Broadway. Often appearing in a trance, Myers was both hypnotized and hypnotic as she drew her crowd in with her powerful lyricism and impressive instrumentals despite her fatigue. She put on a captivating show that won’t soon be forgotten by those in attendance. | Colin Williams
