She may be the next face of Chanel and one of the greatest singers around but Cat Power is still delightfully modest, says Beth Squires
Cat Power is in vogue right now… and, literally, in Vogue this month (straddling a tuba) alongside Beth Ditto, larger than life lead singer of The Gossip, Bat For Lashes and Regina Spektor as part of a photo spread celebrating fabulous breakthrough female musicians. At the beginning of the month I was lucky enough to enjoy my second evening in her presence; last November I watched the American singer at the Roundhouse in Camden as she played with the Memphis Rhythm & Blues Band. That night I felt as if I had experienced a different kind of gig from any I’d been to before. The crowd was respectful; almost nervous that if people did something wrong or didn’t cheer loudly enough they would frighten her away. And perhaps they would have, as Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) is notorious for the intense and unpredictable stage fright, which has led to her live shows gaining a reputation for being rather erratic, a little shaky at times, but undoubtedly never boring.
This time she was playing Kentish Town Forum; which seemed to be a step down from the Roundhouse. Although people complain about the acoustics at the Camden venue, they seemed to compliment Marshall’s soft, throaty tone of voice, whereas here at the Forum her vocals too often got lost amid the backing of the fantastic Dirty Delta Blues. Having arrived late I was a little further back in the diverse crowd than I would have liked, although it gave me a great chance to people watch. And what a crowd… there was a silent couple with as many piercings as they had fingers, a Hamnett-slogan-tee wearing fashionista with ‘cool’ hair (you know, bleached and cut haphazardly in a way only that particular person can pull off…), guys with rucksacks and muddy trousers, middle-aged dressed-up couples, groups of teenagers and every other imaginable stereotype. Vastly different to the show at the Roundhouse, and all the better for it.
Anyway, back to the show; Cat Power tottered on to huge cheers and adoration from us all. Casually dressed in a loose, grey, off-the-shoulder t-shirt and jeans, with her hair pulled up high in a ponytail, she exuded an effortless cool most try too hard to capture. As the new face of Chanel, chosen by Karl Lagerfeld himself, Marshall can be comfortable knowing she’s in fashion, yet she still has that wonderful, kooky girl-next-door quality that makes her so beloved. Her demeanour was nervous as she crossed the stage performing lovely little half-bows and raising her hand in the air in greeting. One of the huge charms of seeing Cat Power live is her utter appreciation for the crowd – she seems absolutely shocked and grateful to get anything more than a smattering of applause, it sometimes throws her so off track she’ll mumble her words or pause in the middle of a song to beam at her audience.
Despite boasting a career spanning seven albums, on this occasion the tracks were mostly from her latest, The Greatest, and a number of covers she had not yet previously showcased on The Covers Record which hinted that perhaps another covers compilation would be released in the future. Early in the set she performed the title track from The Greatest; a song that really showcases her unique voice which I can only describe as a soft, soothing, sometimes incoherent sound, which at times seems as if it is being forced from deep within her, causing breathy phrasing that lesser artists simply wouldn’t get away with. At times she danced – refreshingly badly, and she hopped around for a little while before stopping, self-consciously, and endearingly jutting her arms out in time to the music. She blended one song into another, pausing only to showcase a terrible British accent – “’ello London…” – before going back to jumping between her own tracks and uniquely interpreted covers of songs by The Rolling Stones, Frank Sinatra and others.
At the end of a fabulous and far too short set, she left to much applause… shortly returning for the encore on a bicycle. My personal highlight was during this encore, when she performed ‘Lived In Bars’; a stunning, haunting song from The Greatest that she managed to improve even further in the live setting. And then, after three more songs, Marshall began her incredibly long series of bows, determined to show her appreciation to everyone who had made it out to see her. With a role in the upcoming Wong Kar-Wai film My Blueberry Nights, the Chanel campaign and hopefully a lot more music it won’t be long before we see her again.
For more information about the wonderful Cat Power, visit www.catpowerthegreatest.com.
