Cat Power Live

I'm going to see Xiu Xiu there in April. Can't wait!

PS the Johnny Thunders tribute show at CBGB's was the number one worst, before anyone asks.

the thing is, i won't be going with expectations of seeing a knockout performance. i like chan's personality, her quirks, etc. and i don't care if things don't go smoothly - well, i care if she gets all upset because i don't want her to be. i just like being in the room and hearing her sing and play guitar

-- electric sound of jim (electricsoun...), March 23rd, 2003.

God DAMN that was a good one

Ernest P., it's not preciousness, I can assure you of that much: I saw her do a radio session & had dinner with her in Holland a few years ago. Hard to watch, yes. Precious, no, it isn't that.

Hahahahaha! Ah, the memories.

Cat Power is playing on The Weezer Cruise. What could go wrong?

colloquially "the weezer cruise" is when a guy steps up to speak to a girl at a club but then just as he's about to speak is sick all over himself instead

She was really engaged and playful tonight. Also, the version of Me Voy was heartbreakingly good.

All this talk about Chan this and Chan that made me wonder if Cat Power could jazz up her stage act by collaborating with Chris-Chan, the famous internet person who is now apparently a woman. They could tour as Chan-Chan, with Cat Power providing the songs and Chris-Chan doing the set dressing and conceptualising.

Both artists - and I don't use that word lightly - are good with ideas but poor with execution, but I feel that the discipline of touring would do Chris-Chan the power of good and conversely the hulking form of an aggressive, ever-present maniac standing at the edge of the stage would give Cat Power a strong incentive to get her songs right first time, so that she can finish the show on time and just get the hell out.

Either way it's a win-win. What could they sing about? Sonic the Hedgehog of course. He has to go fast. Or they could use a Sonic knock-off if there are legal problems. There's a film in the works that looks awful, but Cat Power has endured bigger blows to her career, she will bounce back.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dU8Tdn4gZhY

this is quite wonderful, as is the full album. Happy to go see her tour this in the spring.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaxB8XkIGAc

also I'm glad that her disaster live performances are now a thing of the distant past. They weren't fun to witness.

Yikes, this is my absolute nightmare.

I'd take the stark reimagined minimal covers backed by The Dirty Three over this pumpkin-spice MOJO magazine boomer-oke.

I saw her on the 2018 tour. She turned in a very solid performance with moments of brilliance. It was in Atlanta, which I suppose qualifies as a home town crowd for her, there were a few people in the audience she knew.

Cat Power, Center Stage, Atlanta
October 13, 2018

He Turns Down
Into My Arms / Dark End of the Street / I Don't Blame You / I Am Stretched on Your Grave / Horizon
Robbin Hood
These Days / Song to Bobby
Woman
Pa Pa Power (Dead Man’s Bones cover)
Me voy
In Your Face
Great Waves (Dirty Three cover)
Metal Heart
White Mustang (Lana Del Rey cover)
Cross Bones Style
Manhattan
He Was a Friend of Mine (traditional cover)
Shivers / Never Tear Us Apart
Good Woman
Wanderer
The Moon

Maybe I'm just not looking in the right places, but I can't seem to find out who her band is for this. Is it just her recent touring band?

Her lighting on that tour, or at least that night, was quite . . . subdued?

https://i.ibb.co/fHmQ13b/Chan2.jpg

Steve Shasta OTM

I feel like her profile's rising again, which is extremely welcome - I saw her perform at a festival several years ago (2018?) and there was like nobody at her stage, just me and maybe a dozen others, few of which were really paying attention. And it wasn't like bad conditions were to blame - weather was perfect, sound was crystal clear and we were even in a nice shade. I was kind of stunned and wondered if she was already forgotten. Regardless, she played an excellent set.

Yikes, this is my absolute nightmare.

if only my nightmares were so benign

she talks about why she chose to do this in this interview, and basically it was a spur of the moment decision because she had an opportunity to play the royal albert hall, and that's it

https://www.vogue.com/article/cat-power-sings-dylan-album-interview

i saw her do the whole album at the troubadour last week - it was a very intimate experience as they brought out folding chairs for the audience so capacity was like half what it would normally be there. she sounded terrific, i love the grain in her voice and she really felt at home in those songs, like it was the most natural thing in the world for her to be playing this material. she seemed to know a lot of ppl in the crowd and was very smiley/appreciative throughout. they let her smoke cigs on stage which i thought was cool, seemed like she needed them to relax a little

my husband saw one of those disastrous early performances about 20 years ago, he said she took five minutes between songs and the audience basically had to give her a pep talk in order to make it thru the set

oh yeah I saw half a dozen shows like that, several of which I just left early. It put me off seeing her for years but every show I've seen over the past six or seven years has been excellent. I'm glad she's sober now.

i was actually looking for any thread on here the other day that might have mentioned it yet (found none) - but yes, when i saw the adverts for the albert hall show - and the subsequent lp release, i just could not see any point to it.... and also had memory of certain CP shows where i felt bad seeing her struggle to get through it. anyway, just listened to the LP and its fantastic - may even buy it for the parents for xmas.

One moment that stood out when I saw her several years ago came during what I *think* was a cover of "Pa Pa Power" (it's been too long to know for sure). She stood near the edge of the stage, leaned into the sparse crowd, and pounded the beat right into her fist as she belted out "we won't destroy you" (if I'm remembering the correct song). It was quite the change given what I first read about those early performances.

Messed that up, I meant to say her fist pounded the beat into the palm of her other hand, like hard.

acoustic half of this Dylan thing is terrific, she really nails it. the electric half is a little too tame, but it's hard (impossible?) to re-create the wild antagonistic atmosphere of those shows.

That "Like A Rolling Stone" performance is awful. Sorry. I love Dylan and I love(d) Cat Power, but I can only wince.

Agreed.

Yeah, it's pretty obviously a labor of love, but it doesn't add anything to the song or to her body of work.

That said, I wouldn't say it's awful, just unremarkable.

The band is the same as credited here I think. I’ve lost track of who normally plays with her live but checking some you tube videos at least a few of these people have been with her live for a while.

https://www.discogs.com/release/28861432-Cat-Power-Sings-Dylan-The-1966-Royal-Albert-Hall-Concert

The guitarist and bass player were with her at least this far back -

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eXhihx7_B5c

well I saw her do this in Napa last night and it was utterly fantastic to watch. I'm so-so on the recording but in person this was a different beast. The acoustic section was completely anchored by the guitarist who played everything extremely straight but she is an incredible interpretive vocalist and she really shifts the vocal melody around as she sees fit while singing. She's still a really nervous performer, particularly during the stripped down section; doesn't know what to do with her hands, shifts her tea cups around obsessively, plays some air guitar, occasionally looks like she's about to freak out; but her voice is never anything but confident. The electric section was another beast. She was having a lot of fun.

She also did the entire show (until LIke a Rolling Stone) in 6 inch louboutin heels; I don't think she would have even made it four steps in those 20 years ago without falling down.

One of the best shows I've seen in years.

but I will give the naysayers this: this was one old, white boomerific crowd (not surprising given the location). But there were a couple of girls there who were about 12, Chan went out of her way to give them setlists and talk to them the second the show was over.

for the Carnegie Hall show she seemed pretty comfortable. at the beginning she said "I don't know if I can say ALL of my friends are here, but it kinda feels like I'm up here cooking Christmas dinner."

agree it was a great show.

x-post- she was wearing those fancy Louboutin heels in Washington DC too. She was nervous at times but much more comfortable then when I saw her years ago