Cat Power

A few months ago my friend Joe and I missed a Cat Power show in Chicago because of a last minute cancellation by Miss Chan Marshall. This made her appearance at the Vic in early September a tough wait, but a performance more than worth it.

We arrived at the show just as Cat Power and the Memphis Rhythm Band took the stage. Each additional cast member breathed a soul into their instrument and microphone, echoing Miss Marshall’s lavishly rich timbre. I could feel the sound the band exuded, but not just because of the volume; the Rhythm Band was comprised of people who actually lived the soul scene of the 60’s and 70’s, not just read about it in a coffee shop magazine. When the voice of Cat Power’s weathered guitarist sounded like well whiskey and clover cigarettes it’s because he spent a good amount of his life drinking well whiskey and smoking clover cigarettes. Physically feeling that difference was 100% better than just listening to a record.

The set list hit everything from ‘The Covers Record’ to ‘You Are Free’ and even a few of her newest songs from ‘The Greatest.’ She transfixed the audience with her piano and guitar playing while effortlessly working in bits of schtick and subtly humorous dialogue. Marshall’s voice resonated warmly in the Vic’s atmosphere, exciting the audience into screams and hollers and drawing them back to hushed coos the next minute. If I learned anything it’s that Chan Marshall’s sultry southern lull should be some kind of national treasure.

Cat Power’s show came to a close with an encore encapsulating her diverse musical background: they performed a three song set consisting of an old spiritual hymn, the Rolling Stone’s ‘(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction,’ and Gnarls Barkley’s ‘Crazy.’ The hymnal rang out from the bottom of Marshall’s throat, her two backup singers perfectly following suit. Satisfaction? Even her Mick Jagger impression was spot on! She kicked and stomped all over the stage, pouting her lips and throwing her voice around; everyone and everything was sufficiently rocked. The evening’s closer was ‘Crazy,’ the recent Gnarls Barkley hit, stripped of all it’s studio production and (kickass) turntable technology. All that it took to recreate the song was Marshall and her pianist, softly strolling through the chorus and verses. The crowd was incited into a hand clapping, foot stomping, sing-a-long frenzy that left everyone sighing and turning to the people around them saying: “Was that a great show or what?” Which lead me to turn to my left and coincidentally run into my friend, Sarah, who also thought the show was sweet. What a show.