I’d been looking forward to seeing a full Cat Power show for years. I’ve been a fan of Chan Marshall’s music for a long time and own almost all of her albums on CD. I’d previously seen her open for Mumford & Sons in Montreal, but the setting couldn’t have been less appropriate. The crowd talked through much of her set, and the quiet beauty of her songs was largely swallowed by the noise around them. I later saw her perform a set of Bob Dylan covers, which sounded great, but this was my first opportunity to see Cat Power perform her own material in a venue with an audience that had actually come to hear it.
Unfortunately, the experience was a considerable disappointment.
The music itself was, unsurprisingly, beautiful. Backed by the Dirty Delta Blues, Marshall performed The Greatest in its entirety, and hearing one of my favourite Cat Power albums played live should have been a special experience. The band sounded fantastic, giving the songs the warmth, restraint and soulful depth that made the 2006 album such a landmark. Marshall’s voice remained the centre of it all, smoky and powerful, carrying the emotional weight of these songs with ease.
Visually, though, the show was another story.
Cat Power does not allow photographers to shoot her concerts, which is her prerogative, but even if photographers had been permitted, the extremely dark lighting would have made capturing anything worthwhile a serious challenge. The stage was often barely illuminated. When Marshall came to the front of the stage, there were moments when she was little more than a silhouette. Whatever the artistic intention, it made for a strangely lifeless visual experience, particularly in a concert built around such emotionally rich material.
There was also something oddly awkward about the moments between songs. Marshall’s attempts at French were charming, but the banter often felt hesitant and uncomfortable rather than natural. Given that she has spent decades performing around the world, I found that surprisingly difficult to reconcile with the assuredness of the music itself.
And perhaps that’s the frustrating part. The songs were wonderful. The Greatest remains a remarkable record, and hearing it performed by Marshall and such an accomplished band was a genuine pleasure. But a concert is more than the songs. It is the atmosphere, the connection, the visual experience and the sense that you are witnessing something happening in the room that you could never get from a record.
After waiting so long to finally see Cat Power perform her own music in the right setting, I left feeling that the experience had fallen considerably short of what I had hoped for. I’ll continue listening to those CDs, of course. They’re still brilliant. But having finally seen Cat Power live, I have no particular desire to do it again.
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