Chan Marshall (aka Cat Power) trades off mics at the Observatory. Photo: David Hall, for the Register.
“Forty forever … last year, next year, this year …”
That was just about all anyone could audibly understand from Chan Marshall, the musician known as Cat Power, among her intermittent mumblings during Tuesday night’s performance at Santa Ana’s Observatory.
Marshall was commentating on the fact that a day earlier she’d turned 41, an event many of this gig’s attendees reminded her of constantly with shouts of “happy birthday, Chan!” and an all-out singalong. The latter started jokingly by Marshall herself (she promptly but unsuccessfully tried to halt it) at the close of “Cherokee,” one of 11 songs that emerged from recording sessions for her latest disc, Sun.
Contrary to what one might surmise – that a “birthday show” would exacerbate the anxiety-fueled problems (principally dispirited and/or incomplete songs) that notoriously plague Cat Power concerts – her fans’ unabashed calls only bolstered Marshall’s delivery here. Her performance was consistently sharp and affecting, permeated with relaxed, sultry dance moves and a good many genuinely grateful grins.
Her voice rang out with an appropriately sorrowful, even gut-wrenching tone at some moments: during the shadow-shrouded opener “The Greatest,” again for the piano ballads “Bully” and “I Don’t Blame You” and especially over the trip-hop-heavy “Always on My Own.”
At other junctures – on the bluesy “Silent Machine,” for the bulk of her deepest cut, “King Rides By,” and finally during the superbly saucy show-closer “Ruin” – her intonations were unquestionably uplifting, seeping into soulful territory via two microphones, one for clean vocals, the other running synthesized overlaps.
Cat Power at the Observatory. Photo: David Hall
In those regards, the show wasn’t at all a carbon-copy of Marshall’s Hollywood Palladium stop in November, where Soundcheck colleague Steve Mirkin asserted that “the wheels fell off” after the first 10 minutes. Not so in O.C. – her execution of Pedro Infante’s “Angelitos Negros” at the halfway mark constituted one of the most astounding pipe stretches in recent memory and expertly served as a bridge between the concert’s low-key intro and raucous conclusion.
Anyone who went to both shows could justify one gripe: the set list was essentially identical, save for the insignificant omission this night of Sun’s Notorious B.I.G. homage/bonus track “Back in the Days (For Christopher Wallace).”
But it was glaringly obvious – in the adoring actions of fans and the equally endearing reactions of Marshall, including tossing out birthday roses one-by-one as the house lights came up – that this was a case of same show, different (read: better) results.
Set list: Cat Power at the Observatory, Santa Ana, Jan. 22, 2013
The Greatest / Cherokee / Silent Machine / Manhattan / Human Being / King Rides By / Sun / Bully / Angelitos Negros (Pedro Infante cover) / Always on My Own / 3, 6, 9 / Nothin but Time / I Don’t Blame You / Peace and Love / Ruin
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Live review: Cat Power bounces back in Santa Ana is a post from: Soundcheck
