7/15/03 - Atlanta, GA, The Earl

7/15/03 - Atlanta, GA, The Earl

Incomplete setlist:

Dead Leaves And The Dirty Ground
Good Woman
Salty Dog

Chan returns to Atlanta after her European tour for this solo performance.

Concert Review

When asked to pick their own method of torture, very few envision witnessing their favorite singer/songwriter plod unsettlingly through a two-hour set of misfires and meanderings. But fans of Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, routinely take chances with their time and money. And tonight, they're losing big time. After prodding the staff at The Earl to turn the lights down, Marshall somehow manages to fire off three songs in the first 30 minutes, including a cover of the White Stripes' "Dead Leaves and the Dirty Ground." But her frustration with the sound prohibits her from reaching maximum efficiency -- mic reverb makes her sound "like a comedian" or "an auctioneer;" the guitar sound is apparently too clean.

Marshall soldiers through a few songs off her latest gem, You Are Free, but soon wavers off course. After dedicating "Good Woman" to Atlanta, she asks if her father is there (apparently not), suggests that the audience receive a partial refund, and calls out for current tour guitarist and Smoke-alum Coleman Lewis (he's also absent).

Every 30 minutes, the crowd decreases. Sounds from the kitchen become more noticeable, beer bottles crash to the floor as people become restless, and extraneous conversation is suddenly audible. Nevertheless, Marshall trudges on, finishing about a third of the songs she attempts.

As the night wears on, Marshall: reveals that she takes Zoloft and was born at Crawford Long Hospital; intentionally goofs her "ABCs"; implies that a rowdy audience member is homosexual; raps a couple lines from a song by shock-rocker Peaches; and proclaims, "They hate me everywhere else. Why should this city be different?"

Even with her best friend, Jennifer, in the front row, Marshall, performing solo, can't get on track. While Cat Power audiences usually elicit a fair mix of apathy and empathy, many regard this performance as pathetic. The night ends with a perfect summation of the proceedings: Marshall plays a blues stomp that rambles on for almost 10 minutes, finally letting out a guttural yelp. Then she false-starts "Salty Dog," and quietly and unceremoniously picks up her belongings, and leaves.