The Fascinating and Complex Cat Power
I’d never seen Cat Power before. I’m glad I went alone. I almost didn’t go. I knew I’d have to duck out of choir early and drive to Carrboro. I bought the ticket ages ago and noone I’d mentioned it to was able to go.
Chan Marshall is a fascinating performer to watch. I saw her cold, without any knowledge of her past or her issues. I was struck by her performance style. She was simultaneously shy, intensely connected with her audience and her band, and very preoccupied with little things going on around her on the stage. As a psychologist, I don’t mean to diagnose when I’m out in the world, but sometimes it happens. Her anxiety was palpable. She frequently pulled up the back of her pants, adjusted her bra, coughed, made contact with people off stage to get her different beverages (I’m now assuming not alcohol… in fact, even at the time, I thought it seemed like they were to soothe her throat), change the levels in the monitors, etc. She never seemed comfortable in her own skin, and yet, what a woman. After reading about her on Wikipedia and watching the video that follows, I was even more amazed by what I saw:
She’s stunningly beautiful, but she wore clothing with a very minimal aesthetic: black jeans, a simple black top, no jewelry, hair in a ponytail. The only part of her outfit that drew attention were her white jazz shoes. I was reminded of the extra feature on Audrey Hepburn on my Breakfast at Tiffany’s DVD, which I just watched two nights ago. I had expected her to be older because of her voice, but on stage, she appeared to be mid to late-20s. However, I’ve looked her up, and she’s actually 35. She performs with minimal lighting, and her gigs are no photography shows (which I only learned about half an hour before leaving).
The shoes. In the low lighting, the shoes were usually the main focus. She moves constantly. in addition to the fidgeting, she moves to the audience, off to the side of the stage, and she constantly dances in a writhy, quirky way. I was expecting her to be more still because of her mellow vocal style, but she danced and traveled and approached and backed away. She talked to people off stage. She made hand motions to the sound and lighting guys. What I loved most was this slow motion running move – sort of a dance – which once again featured those white shoes. Wonderful effect!
Her ability to use her voice is something I did know about, and she didn’t disappoint. I’m not going to try and describe it. You have to listen. Such a task is something left to better writers than me. She takes well-known songs and makes them her own. Her backing band is stellar and perfectly suited to her style.
Much to do today, but I couldn’t let this experience pass by without some comment and this offering, which I took last night:
