2003 Summary

2003 Summary

I want to preface this post by saying I am still working on a complete chronology of all of Chan's concert appearences/radio sessions, etc. I'm sure there are some performances I am missing from my list. Any help would be most welcomed!

Did you see Cat Power in 2003? Do you have any memories/pictures/recordings you would like to share?

We'd all love to hear from you.

In addition, I'll be moving on to posting information on her 2004 performances and so on, so really anything that anyone would like to contribute would be great!



2003 was a big year for Chan. During 2001 and 2002 she played somewhere around 50 performances. In 2003, with a new album to promote, she would more than double that. She made about 114 performances, most of them with a newly assembled backing band. She toured the world, playing shows in Japan, Europe, North America and Australia. She made TV appearences in the USA, England and France. She had a little bit to drink, talked to a squirrel, and was photographed by famed photographer Richard Avedon. Always looking forward, she also began writing material that would end up on her next album, "The Greatest" ("After It All", "Empty Shell", and "Willie" all debuted live this year).

The following is a list of recorded performances from the year. I'm sure there are others, but these are the ones I know about. If anyone has something not listed, we'd all love to hear it as well! The ones in BOLD are recordings I would love to get a copy of and review. Can anyone help out?

1/XX/03 - "Duyster Session", Brussels, Belgium - 10:00
1/13/03 - OUI FM, Radio Session, 15 minutes
1/23/03 - "Peel Session", BBC, London, England - 15:07
2/26/03 - San Francisco, CA, Bimbo's 365 Club - 1:13:26
2/27/03 - KCRW, Santa Monica, CA- 41:39
3/14/03 - Austin, TX, Stubb's BBQ - 31:09
3/19/03 - Atlanta, GA, The Earl - 1:19:54
3/24/03 - "Late Show", NYC - 4:06
4/22/03 - Seattle, WA, Showbox, 96 minutes
5/23/03 - "Later With Jools Holland", London, England - 3:48
5/25/03 - Paris, La Cigale
6/8/03 - Frankfurt, Germany, Mousonturm, 150 minutes
6/18/03 - Glasgow, Scotland, Mono
6/19/03 - Leicester, England - 1:41:20
6/20/03 - London, England, Union Chapel, 74 minutes
6/27/03 - Porto, Portugal - 15:44
9/7/03 - Sydney, Australia, The Basement - 15:33
9/12/03 - Melbourne, Australia, Athenaeum Theater
10/5/03 - Los Angeles, The Wiltern Theater, "Shortlist Awards Performance" - Aired on MTV2
10/18/03 - "Vin Scelsa's Idiot's Delight", WFUV, NYC
10/22/03 - "Traffic Musique", Paris, France - 9:45
11/XX/03 - "World Cafe", WXPN, Philadelphia, PA
12/16/03 - Atlanta, GA, The Earl - 34:44

Out of the above that I have heard, I would list the following as essential:

2/26/03 - San Francisco, CA, Bimbo's 365 Club - From very early in the tour, songs like "Taking People" and "Nude As The News" do not seem to have been performed much on later dates.

2/27/03 - KCRW, Santa Monica, CA - Like all of her KCRW sessions, this is great Cat Power.

6/19/03 - Leicester, England - I imagine this is a good reference point for some of the madness that transpired as the tour wore on. But there are some really great performances here.

Additionally, all of the TV performances are a must, "Late Show", "Later With Jools Holland" and "Traffic Musique", all have songs from "You Are Free". Her only music video from the album, "He War", is also essential.

Unanswered Questions:

When was the "Duyster Session" recorded? I contacted some of the guys at main Duyster website but they didnt know.
When was the OUI FM session recorded? What was performed?
When was the Jools Holland TV appearence recorded? Emails to the BBC have been unanswered.
When was the WXPN session recorded? What was performed?

3/8/03 Chicago, Abbey Pub

mousonfan2000 wrote:3/8/03 Chicago, Abbey Pub

Are you saying there is a recording of this one? Do you have a copy? Any info?