#78 Scout Niblett

A never-ending climb: Scout singing “Wolfie” while climbing up the stairs, stomping, sometimes following the rhythm, sometimes not, with the repetitive singsong tunes. Scout is elsewhere when she sings. Her features harden and, when her voice rises, when she insists, it hurts. It flows right through you and forms knots. You hold your breath, close your eyes and your stomach gets tense, and you want it never to end because it hurts, but it’s the kind of pain that you need to feel alive.

Wherever we end up, we’ll drink tea. This is Gaspar, a friend of Vincent Moon’s, who offers her some after she opens the door of his cluttered flat. It’s a magical, intimate scene, and the girlish smile illuminates her face, right after she finishes the song.

We had a break for a few minutes, but not long because Scout had to leave soon to prepare herself to go on stage. We could not leave without shooting a song here, in this place where instruments, books, films, posters, teacups and covered sketchbooks are stacked up. Moon asked Gaspar if he would play the cello while Scout sang “Baby Emma”. Her hair hid her face, and Scout almost spat her song: her face once again completely changed, the notes coming from the cello made us shiver, moans came from nowhere, and this pain we almost forgot about woke up as the song went along. At the end of this improvised duet, Scout, roguish, gave us a thumbs-up and started laughing, really happy for what just happened. We were completely amazed, speechless, elsewhere.

Rue Saint Maur, on the way back to the Nouveau Casino. Scout gritted her teeth while playing “Nevada”, and her guitar sounded out of tune. Scout yelled in the streets, and looked at the camera with sadness and anger. You cannot help but think about Janis. At the end, she told us that she loved the yelling part, and thinks it was much better than the show she was about to give.

When she moved in the queue with people who came to see her on stage on that very evening, Scout told us that she felt like those guys playing music in metro, hoping they’ll be given some money. This scene where she sings “Dinosaur Egg”, the first single from her latest album, was a bit strange: we wondered whether people around recognized her, her voice, or her songs, because some of them seemed so indifferent and chatted as if it were nothing. Scout was supporting herself before the doors of the Nouveau Casino opened, and people started to use their phones and cameras to immortalize the moment.

Text by Nora