cat power
After the opening act that would not end, Chan Marshall (nee Cat Power)
took a stage which was strewn with roses. She walked to center-stage
and then quickly back to the wings and back on-stage from the other
side. After a few stumbles with monitors and amplifier adjustments, she
quickly went into the main body of the set. Frankly, not impressive is
the nicest way I can put my reaction to the show. I don't know if it
was because she was sick with a cold — which she apologized for — or if
it was part of the infamous antics she's known for during live
performances, but it was distracting; asking for the monitors to be
turned up and down, messing around with the amp, speaking in the
general direction of the audience, chatting about her friends in the
audience, apologizing for the sound and saying she didn't know how to
play the piano (or the guitar), she played some songs twice, forgot
songs and plinked around on the piano while trying to remember the
accompaniment to a couple of songs, stopped other songs in the middle
of a line and finally pulled the show to a halt with "I'm sorry, I
forgot everything"; in general, it reminded me of a stoned sixteen year
old playing some songs for friends; kind of cute, but in the end,
annoying. Despite her protests of lack of skill and bad sound-work, I
found neither particularly lacking. Overall, a disappointing
performance, which is a shame, because the records she makes are
absulotely wonderfull and beautiful. Mabybe it was the lack of a
backing band, or she was still sick or unbelievably stoned, but as much
as I hate to pan Chan Marshall, honestly, it sucked.