10/18/05 - Memphis, TN, Hi-Tone

10/18/05 - Memphis, TN, Hi-Tone

Incomplete setlist
Good Woman
I Dont Blame You
Blue Moon

This was the sixth date of the twelve date midwest tour.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Had an excellent send-off in Memphis, including a chance to see Cat Power at the Hi-Tone. Memphis has a lot of slick venues, but this one, while not that authentic in age, is authentic in grime-factor. Cat Power was great until the expected freak out during the second half of the show.

--------------------------------------

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Last time Chan Marshall (Cat Power) played at the Hi-Tone in Memphis she barely made it through three songs when she decided the audience was rude and too loud forcing her to turn her back, literally, on them and crying for a good five minutes before storming offstage and not returning. It seems that taught tonight's audience a valuable lesson about seeing Cat Power live in concert.

You don't breathe at a Cat Power concert. If you're familiar with her work and her reputation, you don't flinch. You want to cry but you don't. You want to get chills but you're too afraid she will sense them and storm off. I found myself more distracted with the audience's numerous flash photography and talkativeness and therefore was unable to actually enjoy the beauty that Chan was bringing to the stage. She was a woman of little words, she said "happy holloween" and never took a break between songs except to switch from piano to her guitar which she had numerous problems with. I'm not sure if she actually played one entire song through her 45 minute set. She seemed to play a few verses and maybe a chorus and follow it with a few random clunkings on the piano and then start a brand new song so the audience wasn't sure where one song started and one stopped. Every now and then she would stop in the middle of a song and mutter something like "sorry i'm boring" or "i'm not used to playing with a pick" and either start the song over or begin a completely new song. i was on edge the entire time. If a flash went off I wanted to throw things at the photographers, not because it's rude to the audience (which it is, what are you possibly going to do with 900 pictures of Cat Power's back at the piano???) but because I was scared she would end her set because of the flashing lights of the cameras.

For the final "medly" of songs that she "performed" she asked for the main light on the stage to be turned off so that she was only lit by a series of four very soft backlights...the audience could barely makeout her profile which actually was really cool and really freaky. She seemed much more at ease when playing in the dark, sadly at the same time that she began to get comfortable the venue began to let in people who were waiting for the 11pm "Beer Bust" and so the venue got MUCH louder and so Chan wouid begin a song like "Good Woman" or "I Don't Blame You", sing a few lines, bang out a few random chords and then start a new song like "Blue Moon"...just when she was reaching her peak of her performance she was stopped by an uninterested, loud few. The crowd of nearly 300 were content with her but a few loud morons and photographers ruined the mood.

She ended her set with a beautiful song stopped abruptly by a slide across the keyboard, a "goodnight I hope you guys enjoyed your night, i'm sorry to keep you" and an exit from the stage without eye contact to anyone she rushed passed. The two people sitting in the table in front of me were equally upset because I watched as they were caught up in her emotional delivery and music and everytime it was interrupted they were interrupted and they stormed out of the venus just as Chan did.

It was an experience. She's a genius on record but live it's too intense, you feel too responsible for her and if you can somehow convince her to play for you and a few friends then you're better off. I'm glad I went but the one thing I hate about concerts is how self obsessed people become...they have to get their 90 pictures they have to talk to their friends they have to knock their beer bottle over they have to give their flowers to Chan because the concert is all about them and not if the 3499 flashes going on during a performance is distracting to the audience who payed just as much as them to attend the concert. OH well.

Cat Power=unstable love.

---------------------------------------

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

-----------------------------

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

These pictures are wonderful!