Stephanie Goodman
Roundhouse, 23 October 2018
There's no doubt about it, every Cat Power gig is a surprise. You never know if it's going to be an edgy, almost chaotic affair, or a bluesy soulful celebration or a lo-fi, free-spirited rambling show full of talk and sudden excursions into unknown territory. But every show with Chan Marshall is a hugely rewarding experience - it's why this is my ninth Cat Power show - and this has to be the most professional and confident I've ever seen her.
When she comes out she, of course, looks a dream. Her hair has grown out and she looks more youthful and happy. She's also wearing a gorgeous black velvet Vampire's Wife dress (that's the name of the gothic clothes made by Nick Cave's talented wife Susie, Florence Welch, among others, is also a huge fan). This new look suits her immensely and she seems to glow tonight.
Marshall has been through many life changes since I last saw her. She's had a child (a little boy: the top of his head is seen on the cover of her new album Wanderer) and left the label (Matador) that released nearly all of her previous records (they didn't think her latest was commercial enough apparently and wanted her to re-record it, which is crazy). Somehow being more settled in her life and more confident in her music (not letting record executives dictate how she should sound) appears to have really affected her live performance in a hugely positive way.
I knew it was going to be a powerful show the minute she launched into He Turns Down from Moon Pix, keeping to it's haunting stripped down style. Unlike the last time I saw her, for this tour Marshall has abandoned playing any instrument and instead is concentrating on her singing but is armed with two microphones. She's also remaining in the centre of the stage these days for most of the show, only occasionally taking the mic off its stage to get closer to the audience (as opposed to the old days when she constantly wandered the stage, funny given the new album is called Wanderer and now she's given up stage wandering!).
Her voice, as husky and soulful as ever, sounds magnificent maybe better than ever and it helps that she's backed by a band that never tries to over power it. I think it may be the same trio that performed with her the last time she played the Roundhouse, two women on guitar and drums and a guy playing keyboards and guitar. It's just enough to enhance what Marshall does.
The setlist was a beautiful mix of songs from the new album and tracks from throughout her career with a smattering of tasteful covers, some of which it took me a while to even realise they weren't her own songs. When she began singing White Mustang by Lana Del Rey, for instance, I was sure it was one of her songs from the Jukebox album. I love the original but Marshall turned it into something far more real, dirty and earthy. Some people are able to cover a song and make you forget the original and Marshall definitely did that with Del Rey's song, giving it a groove and some sublime vocals.
There was also lovely moments when she began with one song and ended with another. One moment it appeared like she was going to sing one of the most beautiful Nick Cave songs, Into Your Arms, but then she took a left turn and began singing The Dark End Of The Street and then surprising us again by seamlessly taking it into her own song I Don't Blame You. Another time she began singing These Days, giving Nico a run for her money, before seguing into Song For Bobby.
My favorite came though when she surprised us with one of her best songs that I'm not sure I've ever heard live before, Cross Bones Style and ending it with Nude As The News, the song that brought me to Cat Power in the first place (I heard it on John Peel's radio show and immediately went out and bought her album What Would The Community Think).
There was plenty from the new album too, and as with the rest of the set, it was performed old Cat Power style (no drum machines or synths as on her previous album Sun) and all sounded great, in particular lead single Woman, Robbin Hood and In Your Face. Me Voy though became a long beautiful Latin-sounding blues that allowed Marshall do make full use of her voice, the emotion coming through particularly at the end, sounding incredibly powerful.
I think was mesmerised the whole show through but it felt like it just kept building and building all the time, even when the tracks were more quiet affairs. This is certainly true for the last few songs with the gentle but hugely affecting Good Woman sending shivers. It's probably the closest thing she's ever done to a country song and it was wonderful to hear it sung with so much feeling, with Marshall coming over to the edge of the stage and, it felt, singing each lyric to us.
Wanderer had a gentle blues groove and I can see this song expanding into something more in future shows. But the most ethereal and magical song actually closed the show: a stunning version of The Moon. Just as on the album The Greatest, it was just Marshall and her guitarist playing the simple but evocative guitar, with her voice echoing throughout the Roundhouse as if the sky had opened and the moon was shining down on all of us.
It was an incredible way to end the show (no encore as usual!) and so haunting. Instead of an encore or her habit of throwing flowers in the crowd she instead left us with some sweet words to take care of each other and thanking us "for accepting me on my path." Marshall it seems is all grown up and full of beauty and grace and this show really reflected that.
Opening for Cat Power tonight was a heavily fringed singer called Stephanie Goodman who, like Marshall, sang without an instrument but had an accompanying guitarist. Sometimes she sounded like a DIY Goldfrapp (Sapphire), other times like a twee folkster (Dream 40), then like a punky dominatrix (Sex Concrete, for which the only words seemed to be sex and concrete). There was also a drony, echoy version of Donovan's Catch The Wind.
All in all it was generally terrible, very lo-fi and amateurish but worst of all, Goodman just had an awful tuneless voice. I hate being negative about the support acts but I have to say this was one of the worst I've seen and felt more like something you would see appearing on the bill with your mate's band down the local pub. It was also one of those acts where most of the music was prerecorded (with Goodman playing it from her iPad!) including numerous backing vocals by Goodman and when it sounds like that you do start to wonder what the purpose is playing live at all.
Still I guess they got to play with Cat Power so good for them I suppose.
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