is seeing cat power worth $25+service charges?!

i heard that sometimes she goes crrraaazzzy during her shows, for better or for worse, so all in all its a crapshoot. is this true? what do you guys suggest? i am poor, so its really $25+service charges+$8ish for metro. but then again, i like to gamble. however i want to make an informed decision so i can start saving up.

All I can say is the one time I saw her, she was so boring I wanted to slit my wrists. But your mileage may vary (as they say on the internet), because people around me were totally into her. I don't get it, to be honest.

i second the doctor. and i've seen her twice.

I'd be interested in seeing her if it wasn't already a busy june concert wise (at least for me)…..but the ticket price combined with her rumored and not so rumored volatility onstage doesnt make it worth the trip

nooooooo. Don't do it. Stay home and listen to her cd's instead.

She's completely terrible live…

Seriously, don't do it. Don't think that "this time it will be different and she won't freak out." Because she will.

No. In the 70+ shows I've been to, Cat Power is the ONLY one that I was angry about spending money on. She hit the stage and hour and a half late, and she insisted the lighting be as dark as possible so that no one could see her, because she has a 'performing' complex. Her albums are wonderful. But her live show is crap. Please save your money.

Angry is a good way to describe it! I left halfway through the show and had to stop in at Polly's and down a couple of gin and tonics on the way home to quell my seething nerves….

Would someone please embellish on the volatility/going crazy on stage thing. Are we talking headbanging/screaming/smashing instruments/temper tantrums or what?

She has stage fright. No tossing of things, but wanting reverb on/off (asking the FOH person to tweak things for her), leaving in the middle of the set because "I gotta pee", stuff like that. I guess if you love the songs you might get the show, but if you are not a big fan, I would not look it as a good introduction to her work.

so


acts like Fiona Apple, sounds like Sarah McLachlan, looks like…..


<img src="http://www.matadorrecords.com/images/news/chan_index4.jpg" alt=" - " />

a boy???

great picture you found there

<img src="http://www.artnet.com/Magazine/people/smith/Images/smith11-17-41.jpg" alt=" - " />
<img src="http://www.timeandspace.org/tsl/calendar/0412/catpower.jpg" alt=" - " />
<img src="http://han.grumblemutterspit.org/images/chan-thumb.jpg" alt=" - " />
<img src="http://www.girlskickbutt.com/images/girls/chan_marshall/chan_marshall_007.jpg" alt=" - " />

Thanks for the embellishment. Sounds painful.

Originally posted by Sir HC:
She has stage fright. No tossing of things, but wanting reverb on/off (asking the FOH person to tweak things for her), leaving in the middle of the set because "I gotta pee", stuff like that. I guess if you love the songs you might get the show, but if you are not a big fan, I would not look it as a good introduction to her work.

Originally posted by matts:
Thanks for the embellishment. Sounds painful.

Originally posted by Sir HC:
She has stage fright. No tossing of things, but wanting reverb on/off (asking the FOH person to tweak things for her), leaving in the middle of the set because "I gotta pee", stuff like that. I guess if you love the songs you might get the show, but if you are not a big fan, I would not look it as a good introduction to her work.

Worst part is that for bits it is great.

I agree with most of the above posts about Cat Power's past, but I've read some good reviews of her performances at Coachella and Tucson that makes me think that the stage fright won't be as big of a problem as it was in the past. On this tour she's touring with a backing band of old Stax recording artists, who probably wouldn't put up with too much shit.

good information. thanks guys. i guess ill take a pass and wait for a dvd or something that will never come. also she doesnt look that much like a boy. id defintely slip it to her.

i've seen cat power about 6 or 7 times since 1996. twice, she has been absolutely terrific, and both times were with backing bands (in 1996 with steve shelley and tim foljahn, and in 1998 with jim white and mick turner of dirty three). only once when i saw her completely solo was it good, and that was in 1997. the last few times i've seen her solo, it was pretty miserable. she fucks up all the time, apologizes, starts and stops songs, etc.

this should be a good show because she has a full backing band of seasoned musicians. she gets less freaked out when there are other people to hide behind.

i'd only go if you were wealthy and absolutely love her records. at $25+, my instinct is to say stay home.

Topic: is seeing cat power worth $25+service charges?!

<img src="http://www.indra.com/8ball/animatedgifs/c11.gif" alt=" - " />

Originally posted by snailhook:
i'd only go if you were wealthy and absolutely love her records. at $25+, my instinct is to say stay home.

or see Dungen at the Black Cat instead…

i'd definitely choose dungen over cat power.

i might pay $25 to see the memphis rhythm band WITHOUT cat power. but with cat power? meh. i've seen her a bunch of times, when she's on her own it just can't be good. only saw one true disaster of a performance, up at the matador 10th anniversary thing many years back. i think she walked on and off stage about 6 or 7 times, managed to play only a few songs. she'll probably have her shit more together this time, but that's quite a risk.