You Are...drunk

[marc]

Well, so that nobody gets offended, let me begin by saying I AM a Cat Power fan. That said, I'd like to state some facts about her show in Geneva, Switzerland, last friday, may 30th. Is lo-fi just a synonym for not hitting a straight note? First of all, good ol' Chan showed up wasted at the show, and that was the beginning of the end. How long will I have to wait to listen to her albums and not remember the tremendously pathetic concert I witnessed, God only knows. All I can say is I felt angry, ripped off, laughed at and extremely disappointed by her performance. Cat's band were just as baffled as the audience while she kept making the songs (and us) agonize endlessly. She even forgot the lyrics to some of them, the great songs on You Are Free sounded like crap, Cat and the guitar player kept drinking more wine and COUNTING THE MINUTES LEFT TIL THE END OF THE SHOW... COME ON! That show should have simply been canceled. You're not up to the job tonight? Well, just hit the sack and come back tomorrow, anything would have been better than THAT. And I know this may sound too angry for fans, but I'm just curious: has this happened in many Cat Power shows or am I just unlucky enough to have seen her worst concert ever? Seriously, I'd like to know.

[Denzil]

I am seeing Cat Power perform on June 20th in London, and your message has got me a bit worried. Maybe being drunk is her way of coping with singing live to an audience, as I have heard it said many times that she gets very nervous about performing. However, she does have an obligation to her fans when performing to do a professional job of it, and I would hate to see her butcher her own beautiful songs like you describe. I would rather not see her at all than see her in the state you described.

[soot]

check out www.moonpix.com
see Forums
for others opinions of shows, most have been positive

[Lloyd Hopkins]

Ive seen Cat power about 7 times and I think you'll enjoy the show as long as you are prepared for her to do whatever she wants on the night. I've been to a show where she played an hour and a half of full songs but at the last Dirty Three show there where there were pretty much only fragments.

I used to get frustrated when I wanted to hear a live version of a song I really like or when she cut off just before an amazing line (once, just before the loud/high part in king rides by, she said to her self 'shall i try that' and then decided not to which was pretty crushing).

The reason I go to the shows is to hear her voice and at every show, however disruptive, you'll be rewarded by that which is always amazing. She's also pretty funny in contrast to the dramatic nature of the music which is cool.

A lot has been talked about how much of the stage persona is about nervousness or if it's a lack of respect for the audience but the bottom line is that the shows are unpredictable and (luckily) not all artists feel the need to produce polished rehersed versions of their records or follow a set of performance standards rules (Steve Albini once said that just because someone buys a ticket to a show, it in no way allows them to impose expectations on the artist that night).

The best way to approach the show is to expect it to be different and to enjoy what happens without expectation. Even if you come up short on songs you want to hear or it's not what you expected, I'll be surprised if you see a more moving live performance this year.

[pink_press_rat]

welcome to the world of rock and roll......what kind of tortured artist would she be if you didnt resent her a bit?
thicken your skin folks.....its a bottle of wine and some wrongs notes......i bet youve done worse

[marc]

I'll drink to that! Well, some people can pull off a great show even when they're drunk, but sadly that is not the case for Cat Power... The old clichés of drugs/booze + rock are only fun for the ones ON the drugs/booze... I'd have enjoyed seeing Cat Power drunk in a party, mind you, but on stage it was simply pathetic. On the show I saw, when some people were laughing at the stuff she did and said, Chan said: "It's funny now, but believe me, it won't be tomorrow..."

[rbr]

Since there was a request for feedback on her performances -- tonight (June 8 in Frankfurt Germany) Chan was ridiculous in concert. It was the first time I had heard her... the two or three songs she managed to muddle through seemed like they might be good, but she quickly degenerated into shouting and moaning (literally -- not an assement of her singing) over her piano after she sent her band away. She was offensive to the audience, which was amazingly patient (I assume because they couldn't understand that they were being attacked for language reasons); she made fun of deaf people; she told us many times we should consider getting our money back. A good section of the audience then did leave, and the management of the venue was also annoying, claiming that there was still a "concert" (with her screams coming out of the concert hall while he said that -- almost amusing if it weren't so sad).

Troubled souls are fine -- there was nothing defensible about her "performance."

[Lloyd Hopkins]

Cool! Can't wait to see her next week!

[laura_guerra]

Is this a Chan Marshall-bashing thread?

Give her a break. You don't expect her to be always exhilarating and in a good mood, do you?
That wouldn't be humanely possible.

When I saw her perform live it wasn't what I would call a regular show, but it was great nonetheless.

The Beauty of her Art is that you never know what the next concert will be like.
I hate robotic bands/singers/performers who always deliver the same performances note by note...

She's not Britney Spears, for crying out loud!!!


Regards,

Laura

[doschmo]

I saw Catpower in Francfort: She just played two songs and after that just sits on the floor (the band has leaved the stage) and said that she will not play anymore and that we can s... her a...

I don´t understand why she´s going on tour if then she don´t wants to perform. Last concert for me with catpower. I like her music very much but im not going to concert to let me insult by the artist ...

That has nothing to do with Britney Spears or money but with respect.

[laura_guerra]

I've just made an allusion to Britney Spears to state that Chan is not that kind of robotic, puppet artist, who follows the rules and plays note by note...

I will say no more...

[antistar]

she told us many times we should consider getting our money back.

so, did you?


She's only human. Humans more or less often get drunk, feel melancholic, unsatisfied, weak. At least she's not hiding what's she really like.
After all, it's your choice to go or not to go to see her play. I think she's a wonderful being, even though she's lost and doesn't have the best control over her life.

There goes my first post.

[J_fancher]

you know though, for someone like me, that is appealing in a way as she gets more and more smashed up there and tired. Cause i dont really have any control over my life either. It's sad, but at least while i was there we were getting drunk together. The crowd wasnt very drunk but i was and so was chan, that was cool.

[antistar]

I understand what you mean. I hope some day I'll get to see her live, no matter how drunk she gets. No iconography, just true feelings. People should respect that, even if it doesn't look good. If someone is looking for estheticism, there are heaps of Celine Dions and Mariah Careys out there.

[silas]

i saw cat power yesterday in amsterdam, and yes she was drunk as hell....
it could have been 1000 times better if she stayed sober, if i get drunk while working i get fired, just because she's a singer doesn't means she can get drunk whenever she feels like it.

i just don't like to pay and drive 100 kilometers (lots of miles) to see someone being wasted.
the only funny thing is that i went backstage after the show and she was really nice and she singed her autograph backwards. i felt kinda sorry for her

[soot]

Well...Chan can get drunk at work because she's a Rock and Roll performer and not Joe 9 to 5, so the comparison there is beyond irrevelent . The history of popular (and unpopular) music is filled with musicians "on" something
(hell..those early jazz guys were more doped up than Keith Richards)
Chan's having fun...let her live. When Bob Pollard gets drunk everyone thinks its cool, but if Chan does it , everyone thinks its sad.

[9000]

wait, who says you can't get drunk at work if you're a joe 9 to 5?

[marc]

just go and see cat power live and if she's drunk (erm, there's a fat chance, i'm afraid) you'll see why she shouldn't be. the basic three kinds of opinions i see here are:
a) those who havent seen her live and drunk and therefore dont know what they're talking about when they say it doesn't matter

b) those who have seen how bad she plays when drunk and hated it (me)

and c) those who saw her play drunk were too wasted to give a fuck.

jesus, if i hadn't seen her live i wouldn't care what anyone else thought about some other concert and I would go see her anyway. but at least now i've seen her and know what to expect. it's sad but going to a cat power show is like, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose

[Lloyd Hopkins]

Shall I print these off and give them to her on Thursday?

[silas]

yes please

[Christiane]

i saw her in cologne; for the first time. i can' t say anything about her performance being bad. the songs sounded beautiful. i like people being creative on stage.
on the other hand i have to admit, it was a sad performance. you could see how willingly she was drinking 'something bad happened, but i am not gonna tell you' away. maybe nothing happened. i m not the one to tell. but performed alcohol misuse; nobody wants to see it and even pay for it. the scenario lasted for over 3 hours. two thirds of the audience left before the end was even near.
maybe she is exhausted and not up to perform. then she should take a break and cancel the shows. this was a rather upsetting night. she looks like she could need some help.

[DaveM]

I thoroughly didn't enjoy the Glasgow gig.
SO many people talking through the entire thing, could barely hear. Mobile phones going off etc. It sucked.

[Lloyd Hopkins]

Originally posted by silas
i saw cat power yesterday in amsterdam, and yes she was drunk as hell....
it could have been 1000 times better if she stayed sober, if i get drunk while working i get fired, just because she's a singer doesn't means she can get drunk whenever she feels like it.

i just don't like to pay and drive 100 kilometers (lots of miles) to see someone being wasted.
the only funny thing is that i went backstage after the show and she was really nice and she singed her autograph backwards. i felt kinda sorry for her

Even though you don't like to drive 100km to see someone being wasted, you still asked for an autograph. Did you say the show was great too?

[sjogro]

i think it's pathetic how the bunch of you respond to her appearance..
geez, it's been said: she is no britney spears!
would you complain about the smell at a GG Allin show?
it all adds up to the music, if she's too wasted to even play a note yeah that's fucked up. but then again, the painfulness of that picture should be nominated for an oscar.
this is no pop music, this is a songwriter. a person full of emotions, worries, irritations, frustrations, secrets, love, pain, anger... you name it. i would feel extremely ripped off if every song sounded exactly as on the album. why the hell do you go to concerts anyway? don't you just hope for anything unexpected ?


i do think its sad to see her this way though. it makes me worry for her, maybe because she seems so careless herself..
though you know she's not when you listen to the songs..
hmm.. :-/

[antistar]

people often forget what music is really about
wanna see a perfect image they created about something that they are about to expirience
well,life ain't that sweet
perfection is sterile,boring, you'll just have to wait for some clones to grab guitars and rock the plastic out

[music dude]

From the people I know who've seen cat power, I think it's wierd how there are those people who say she was terrible because she was so drunk, and those people who admit she was really drunk, but it is ok because she is chan, and she is not perfect, but she is amazing and she can afford to be bad because she is so good. I enjoy a loose show like the next person, but isn't the reason you go to a show is too hear the songs. nina simone used to walk off stage, if people started talking, and for people that payed money to see her, i bet this was kind of upsetting, but i think that nina simone fans maybe like cat power fans, are just happy she showed up. really, i think that chan could show up, play no songs, pass out on stage, and die hard cat power fans would say her collasping was the most beautiful and honest thing they have ever seen. it actually kind of reminds me of hedwig. what i think is eventually chan will no longer want to endure the chore of a live performance, and might just stop touring and just release albums, like nina simone.

but i think that if people pay money to see you, you should give them a good show, artistry be damned, unless people just have money to throw away like that...maybe they do...i don't.

[sjogro]

offcourse it will always be a shame to 'not get a good show'.. but like you recall Nina Simone, it does make quality memories. :)

all that is to be remembered is all that was not to be.

fucking hell, all i just really detest is people saying "i paid for a good show now give me one!"...
we're talking humans here, you didn't throw your goddamn money in a jukebox.. it's not like that, and you never payed for a good show, you payed for 'a show'. if you come out thinking it wasn't worth your money than that's your problem. don't complain! find other music, music that fits you better, that comes with performances that fit you better.

we are who we are and if we do not appreciate who we are then who are we to be who we are? huh?! ;)

[music dude]

what's the point in going to a show if it's not assumed to be a good performance. if that is the case make it a free show. let's say you have a shitty job, and you can't afford many luxuries, you see that your favorite band or artist is coming so you fork over the money to see them, and this is the highlight of your week, you get to the show, and they are going give a lackluster show, well, maybe where you are bands come all the time, but what if it's taken you three years to even see the band, and then they finally come, you are excited, they get wasted drudge through 3 0r 4 decent songs, and then they just fuck around, thank you good night, and you waited three yearsto see this, and you took off work and lost money, and you can't afford to do anything for like another two or three weeks, or you skip a bill, or something, and the only justification is "they are human beings." if we are to be so understanding of their human status, then they too should be undertsanding of their part in the deal. if you you don't want the responsibility of the job don't take the job. who's paying the artists's bills, you are. i undertsand the idealism, but let's be realistic, these people get paid to be worshipped, atleast they can treat the people who worship them well. if we as fans make all the reservations in the world for an artists' shitty or sub par performance, do they then turn around and say "I am in a pretty priveledged postion, maybe i should consider that these folks are paying to see me, driving insane distances "...no that would be the humane thing to do.

"So glad you found a way inside, but there's two types of people in your life...fools and total fools"- Royal Trux

[sjogro]

only a backstage blowjob can make up for three years waiting dude.. :-p
just kidding, but you are mixing up a few things. you're saying that performers should hold in mind that there might be people in the audience that have been waiting for three years and are low on cash. sorry man, i don't know where you work but i do know it's probably a company that doesn't give a fuck about its costumers but for their cash.. it's a fucked up world indeed.
the artists job is to perform not to fill your needs.
your needs will exaggurate the performance.
they don't just get paid to be worshipped either, they are often also paid to open their hearts about explorations in many miserabilities in life of which many are personal and painful.
no offense but if your life sucks so bad that you hope that one concert in three years will make up for it -- you might want to try something different.
still, i'm not saying it's nice if they just fuck around. it's depressing, disappointing at least. but you can't compare singing/songwriting with an office-job. an artist doesn't stop working at 5. often the 'work' never leaves the mind, and therefor alcohol and other drugs can become quite good friends. shitty ditty. but completely understandable. somehow i just can't be mad at her. :)
i think miss marshall has some issues that make her behave this way, she seems a little disturbed, in her way of communication with the audience.. oh well i guess the amsterdam show which i have seen wasn't one of the really drunk ones, i wouldn't know what i would have said if i saw one of those.
i'm just really glad that i have seen her live. just seen her presence, in all its awkwardness... it was a blast. even if the sound wouldn't have been on.

[DaveM]

Originally posted by soot
Well...Chan can get drunk at work because she's a Rock and Roll performer and not Joe 9 to 5, so the comparison there is beyond irrevelent . The history of popular (and unpopular) music is filled with musicians "on" something
(hell..those early jazz guys were more doped up than Keith Richards)
Chan's having fun...let her live. When Bob Pollard gets drunk everyone thinks its cool, but if Chan does it , everyone thinks its sad.

Some people can perform well when they're drunk, some people can't.
I can barely hold a guitar when I'm drunk, so I don't drink much before I play.

I don't care if the person is drunk or not, but if makes them perform badly, I'd rather not see them.

[sjogro]

yeah that's true
even charles bukowski was a lousy performer when drunk ;)

[music dude]

are they paid to open their hearts?


"I just can't be mad at her"

That's really the only thing that needs to be said.

[sjogro]

they're not literally paid for it, but it is a reason they make money.

you mean i should shut up right? :)

[music dude]

"There's burbon on the breath of the singer you love so much. who gets all their words from the books that you don't read anyway."


There's always a song for that feeling...

[Lloyd Hopkins]

Originally posted by music dude
what's the point in going to a show if it's not assumed to be a good performance. if that is the case make it a free show. let's say you have a shitty job, and you can't afford many luxuries, you see that your favorite band or artist is coming so you fork over the money to see them, and this is the highlight of your week, you get to the show, and they are going give a lackluster show, well, maybe where you are bands come all the time, but what if it's taken you three years to even see the band, and then they finally come, you are excited, they get wasted drudge through 3 0r 4 decent songs, and then they just fuck around, thank you good night, and you waited three yearsto see this, and you took off work and lost money, and you can't afford to do anything for like another two or three weeks, or you skip a bill, or something, and the only justification is "they are human beings." if we are to be so understanding of their human status, then they too should be undertsanding of their part in the deal. if you you don't want the responsibility of the job don't take the job. who's paying the artists's bills, you are. i undertsand the idealism, but let's be realistic, these people get paid to be worshipped, atleast they can treat the people who worship them well. if we as fans make all the reservations in the world for an artists' shitty or sub par performance, do they then turn around and say "I am in a pretty priveledged postion, maybe i should consider that these folks are paying to see me, driving insane distances "...no that would be the humane thing to do.

"So glad you found a way inside, but there's two types of people in your life...fools and total fools"- Royal Trux

Royal Trux - Now there's a band with self control.

The deal is if you don't like the show you won't go again and you probably won't buy the record that the show was promoting. It's a choice and it's about money / personal freedom.

It's obvious that the whole Idea of turning up to work for a specific time and acting in a specific way doesn't sit well with most musicians but so many of them end up with lives more regulated than we have with our day-jobs.

I've seen Cat Power 8 times since the mid-nineties and it's gone straight show,shambles (looked like nerves),straight show,shambles (looked unhappy with audience talking),straight show, half/half (looked unhappy with cheap piano)/ Shambles (looked like she was having fun supporting) / Straight show.

Last night's show in Leicester was pretty much a traditional show with full songs and some talking in between, at the end she had fun for half an hour but so did the audience. I genuinely think she is what musicians aspire to be - someone who does what she wants. If she's into performing music at the timetabled 2 hour slot, she does, if not she doesn't.

You can get annoyed with it and punish her by not buying the next album or going to another show and I'm sure the shows have a financial effect on her, probably not for the better.

I can't help thinking though that it's not just fans being besotted but the so called 'bad' shows I've been to have still had incredible moments that shake you up more than anything else you'll see that year.

[crosbysleftear]

I saw her in Union Chapel last night and she was very drunk (it was Margarets birthday) and drinking all the way through the show but the show was still wonderful.

She played at least 10 songs although not many of them where her own. The songs tended to ramble on for a while and some stopped abrubtly but none were shorter then 3 minutes so you couldn't really call them fragments even if they weren't the full recorded version.

The bass player had to try hard to keep her on track between songs but he accomplished this admirably. The between song banter was mad but adorable even if I didn't understand much of it (caught the bit where she told someone off for picking thheir nose though he he).

All in all she was great and can certainly perform drunk, perhaps the show would have been more organised if she had been sober but I'm not sure I would have enjoyed it any more.

Oh yeah and she covered I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now). My favourite Otis Redding song covered by one of my all time favourite artists. It was wonderful, she was crawiling over the crowd and still singing. Perfect.

And Har Mar Superstar appeared form nowhere.

And I'm rambling.

Conclusion: Drunk but absolutely perfect, I'm now wondering when I'm going to see her again. It was so good it converted one of my friends from a sceptic.

Woo Hoo! First post.

[Cryssie]

The Belfast Gig was last night. It was far from perfect.
Ms Marshal managed three songs. She was on stage for about one hour.

I don't object to a show that isn't rehearsed. I have seen lots of bands who are far from rehearsed and the shows have been fantastic.

I think Chan is pretty rehearsed herself, she managed to bark orders at the crowd before morphing into a fragile little girl again.

She has the voice of an angel. Its a pity we didn't get to hear more.

To all those who say she should be allowed to express herself freely, i will agree to a point but if she is allowed to express herself freely why does she demand that the audience act in a very "rehearsed" way i.e sit down and shut-up. It doesn't really add up.

I don't buy this attitude that what ever she does is amazing that doesn't involve a thought process or forming an opinion but infact is much more rigid. "I like Cat Power"

I also don't think that seeing someone so cleary messed up and addicted is anything to be smiling or rejoicing about. In fact i found it quite difficult to watch.

She is a mixture of some very beautiful and very ugly traits which make her something of an enigma. I hope the shows get better.

And just one more thing playing some songs to thank your fans for allowing you to follow a dream isn't too much to ask. If you don't want to do that then cool, stop touring.

Someone at Matador should be looking after young Cat.

[crosbysleftear]

I totally agree withe the above. The idea that we should put up with whatever she decides to play is ridiculous. It cost me £15 to get to london and it was something like £15 a ticket I think. If I had seen a crap show I would have been pissed off. The more I read the more I get the impression that good shows are few and far between and that i was lucky to see one.

As to the idea that shes some tortured soul, thats a bit pathetic as an excuse. I saw Nina Nastasia on Monday night who is equally shy on stage and rights similarly heartfelt songs. She has no problems getting up on stage and playing a proffesionla set. It means no less then falling to pieces during everysong. If Chan has a problem with drink (as it appears) she should stop touring and get it sorted. People trying to suggest that you either get Britney Spears or Cat power are having a laugh. Proffessionalism isn't a crime.

After all that, if you have a ticket for a future show go as if you see a good show it will be amazing.

[ScottMc]

I went to her LA show at the Henry Fonda theatre back in March, I think it was. It was a very different kind of show, but I had heard a lot of complaints beforehand so I kind of knew what to expect.

The best way I can describe the show would be less like a rock concert and more like hanging out with a really talented girl who is playing for her friends at a small party.

She kept mentioning how nervous she was and how she only wanted backlights on. She may have been a tipsy, but she still played rather well. She joked with the audience and even passed around her cigarette since she was the only one allowed to smoke he club.

Chan isn't the most skilled musician in the world, but she has something that about 99% of "musicians" lack and would kill for...STYLE.

I went with two friends who weren't as familiar with her stuff as myself and they sat near the bar area. I guess bottles were clangin and people were making a lot of noise, so their experience wasn't all that enjoyable. I found the show to be very relaxing and personal. I will definitely see her again when she comes back.

[bernie]

I saw Cat Power in London supporting The Dirty Three (although I was there to see Cat Power) and I have to say that she really let them down, and ruined their show. First of all she couldn't finish a single song becuase she was so wasted and I might add she was bragging about the fact she was high on crack and second of all, it was really boring as she was just talking rubbish most of the time instead of singing - saying 'don't get mad' to the audience over and over again. It just made it really hard to stay standing and stay focussed for the headlining band as basically we all had to stand for an hour listening to nothing. For those of you who say that rock stars do this kind of thing - they can at least normally pull it off - i.e they can at leaststring a song together, which I am affraid if she can't perform when she is wasted then she should do drugs in her own time as people have paid to see her sing not see her babble on about nothing for an hour! I don't think thats fair and she should respect her fans.

[ozzie]

yeh I agree about the LA show - it was more about hanging out with her and I quite enjoyed that

[Lloyd Hopkins]

Cat Power at the Dirty three show was great. I took the train to london from nottingham and missed the train back so had to walk around london for 6 hours in the dark on my own and it was still worth it. Yea you could tell that she was drunk but it was funny and the crack remark was clearly a joke. Perhaps she didn't take it too seriously because she was having fun pr was supporting but the people around me seemed to be having fun.

The problem with the dirty three show was the Shepherd's Bush Empire. I've seen them three times and loved them but the sound got lost in that barn and it was far too impersonal.

[bernie]

yeh I guess it was a bit impersonal for the dirty three - would have much prefered to have seen them somewhere smaller - however it was the first time I had seen Cat Power live. As I couldn't make it to the union chapel one and was quite looking forward to it I was disapointed. She may have been having fun and for a while it was funny and I guess if you are die hard fan you can appreciate that more but really I was there to hear her sing - and she was so wacked she couldn't even really speak into the mic so you couldn't hear what she was saying anyway. But I do appreciate your oppinion - I suppose everone took it different ways and I just thought she could have made it really good but didn't try hard enough or didn't care or somthing - I don't know.

[cortezthekiller]

I heard she was minced at the Glasgow show and wanted to party with QOTSA but passed out in her hotel room.

[mrdarcy]

I just stumbled on CP for the first time and this forum. It seems to me that all the answers to the questions about CP's relationship to her audience are right in front of us. Just listen to "I Don't Blame You" On another web site (I think's moonpix.com) there is a download of an entire concert in Paris in nov 02. Yes, she rambles and stumbles, stops in the middle of songs, creates new lyrics, makes strange complaints, gets sarcastic and mean, and makes strangely compelling music. She seems alternately in complete control and a complete mess. Are we sure that Chan isn't short for challenging? Who was that said the sign of a mature and developed mind is one that can hold on to two contradictory notions at the same time? (This is a very bad paraphrase of a very good notion, but I hope you know what I mean). Anyway, I think you can admire her music and hate her performance or the other way around or any variation there of. It is unfortunate that popular music has no other visible means of support other than the selling of artists and their work. This perverts the whole notion of art and forces and all or nothing mentality upon the consumer: you have to buy (in every sense of the word) the whole album, the whole artist, the whole genre and then the whole "lifestyle" that goes along with it. (Buy the album! Get the T-shirt! See the Concert!, Buy the video, etc etc).
CP seems to being doing her damndest to subvert this process, which aint easy since it means biting the hand that feeds you-- and in her case ripping off a couple of fingers in the process. I say more power to her. This still means I think some of her stuff sucks, but I also think she can at times make some of the most compelling music I've heard in a very long time.

[marc]

I must agree on just about every word you've written. Very well said, also! I have the same contradictions in my opinions about Chan.

[snoopy]

I totally agree with the 2nd-last post. Chan doesn't owe fans of her music anything and if you turn up at one of her shows you takes what you get. I've seen her 3 times now and when I feel like she's not engaging I just make my way to the bar, go to the bogs or check out the people around me, but I don't stress or feel cheated. I hate the notion that artists have to be professional. I love music because it's an escape from the professional world. The idea of 'getting your money's worth' from an artist is fairly twisted.

[silver_glider]

I personally feel some shows should be reduced, to account for a)falling on a sunday (day of worship) b) beginning before 6pm (a matinee), or c) playing too late into the night beyond schedule. If there are any technical difficulties (lighting, sound, props) during a performance, attendees should be promptly rewarded their deserv-ed monies back. This is simple economics and logic at work.

Nothing is free in life including my time, fuck you very much.

[marc]

getting your money's worth is only FAIR, not fuckin' twisted.

the idea that an artist is somewhat above good and evil and that you must "take what you get" is demented. i can't descibe properly the disappointment and the torture it felt like when Cat Power's great songs were slayed onstage by herself. Go to the bar? Now that's even more stupid than watching the show! Now, people, lets be serious

[snoopy]

I was being serious. Maybe "twisted" was a tad harsh, but that's the way I enjoy the gigs I go to - be it Chan or whoever. If I really felt like someone was taking the piss - acting with complete contempt for the audience (and I personally don't feel Chan is) - I'd go demand my money back and spend it elsewhere. Otherwise I'm fairly content to see what happens.

And there's nothing wrong with the bar. There is beer at the bar.

[crow011]

1) when i met her before her sydney metro show she was as high as a kite on ecstasy . . .

2) the first song she played was fine . . .

3) after a few sips of some whisky, she lost it, and clearly didnt give a fuck about anyone in the world . . .

4) i pay money, i get something in return . . . this is how economics has been working for the past thousand years or so . . . i dont give a fuck how tortured or brilliant an artist she is . . . you have an obligation to give something other then your own personal eccy comedown-with-whisky to the fans . . .

5) if it was really that likely that she would scam us all for our money, maybe a small disclaimer on the ticket could have been attached . . .

heres an example:

"if at any point i, chan "cat power" marshall, decide to act like a complete druggo/alcholic and stooge you all of your hard-earned money, i will not be held responsible. you see kids, i have problems, and i am not grown up enough yet to do anything about them. i am also supremely self-centered, and i really dont give a fuck about you, or what you think of my music. i am a true musician, so please give me your money. enjoy the show."

6) just in case anyone missed the point, WE ARE HER BOSS. . . if we dont buy her albums and buy her gig tix, then she starves. . . SHE NEEDS US. . . fucking us over helps no-one . . .

lay off the e's and the drink, babe . . . and go learn how to play your own songs again . . .

truly pathetic . . .

crow011 . . .

[Paul]

WE ARE HER BOSS? Yeah, that's a great way to look at it. Maybe she'll run the song selection for her next album by you before it gets released, hoping it will meet your approval. Maybe she'll listen when you tell her the best way to do her job. Maybe she'll fuck you to get to top of the corporate ladder. NONE of these things are ever going to happen, nor should they.

You saw her on an "off" night. You aren't the first, and you won't be the last. I hardly think you deserve any sort of "woe is me" special consideration.

[mrbolano]

Why are people making excuses for her? I read enough now to know that she is truly one of the worlds worst performers. Never have I encountered such vivid reports of her simple inability to perform to songs she wrote. I mean for god sake, when Badly Drawn Boy had a bad night at the Enmore Theatre at least 60% of the songs were played from beginning to end and played well.

She is a freak and I resent her taking our money. AS another person querried, how long until the putrid taste of her sad arse on stage leaves my mind and I can listen to and enjoy her albums again?

Sad fucken messed up spachead.

Burn in hell Catpower.

Yee har!

[deliria]

It would be one thing if this woman was genuinely breaking down on stage & displaying her emotional vulnerability for us.

but having read posts for all over the world, it would appear that this woman breaks down at nearly every single performance.
even the most screwed up person can keep their shit together more often than this.

can't you see this is an act...it is rehearsed right down to the last incoherent mumble. its as rehearsed as any act any band/performer puts on for their fans.
this is no less a performance than the shock tactics Marilyn Manson displays on stage.
she thinks this is what her fans expect from her (& sadly from what i've read most of you do) & she is very obliging.

there is no question we all love her music, so shouldn't we all let her know that we've had enough of the "breakdown" act....how about some music.

[silver_glider]

The act I'm beginning to tire of is that of the person(s) who relentlessly demand to have good music played for them, performer be damned. I find this quite odd. If you don't give a shit about the person to the extent that you call them a freak and wish them dead, why on earth do you still expect them to perform to certain standards or want to listen to their music in the future?

I don''t think the act is as contrived as you wish to believe. Her problems by all measures appear to be genuine. All I can say is get over it.

[deliria]

You say performer be damned
well ok thats fine...then why does she "perform"
I don't need musicians i respect to "perform" for me.
if an "artist" has a problem with performing live, then i would prefer that they just don't. i am happy to just buy a cd & listen to the music.

however, when an artist tours a country, you assume that they are doing this because they feel they have something more to offer their audience via a live show.

Certainly your automatic assumption when someone announces a tour shouldn't be "gee, i wonder if s/he has a problem with live performances?" you assume if they are touring & performing live that they are comfortable with this medium.

i don't want cat power to die, i just want her to stop performing live if she isn't comfortable with it.

to be honest it makes no difference to me now whether she stops or not, i won't pay hard earned cash to see her play live again.

clearly there are some people out there who find this "act" a privilege to witness, i for one will stick to the cd's thats where she has my respect.

[J_fancher]

here take this one

www.jfancher.com/bside1/

at the bottom, the "i dont blame you" the new one.

listen.

[antistar]

jesus.......this damn thing still goes on

you bastards are lucky to have a chance to see a living being on the stage that acts completely natural up there. YES:NATURAL - she's not modelling for you, idiots. So you can take your bloody earned cash and go see Mariah Carey, she'll dance for you the same way she danced on her previous concert, her voice will shiver in the same way it shivered on her fucking album and if you're lucky she'll bring a bunch of tits and butts to dance around her (the same way she dances, of course). and she'll do all that, shiny, happy heroine while her sister is falling appart from sickness in some shitthole.

Do you like when people fake their feelings? Or do you feel a little bit less sheepy when you see that there's no one up there to be your fucking sheperd?

blah blah blah you're so full of shit and I'm suffering from the worst toothache one can imagine. And it's making me nervous. And I enjoyed taking it out on you.

true romance
when you dance

free

don't be in love with an autograph

[Afoj]

The people that are defending Chan's drunken state on stage - Do you also defend Scott Stapp when he was all wasted during one of Creed's shows? Was that also okay because it was "real" and "natural"?

You folks are morons.

[J_fancher]

i beleive i said up there,

"if you want crap like you say, listen to creed" ooh stapp had one "bad night" and those shitty fans wanted to fukking sue them. I bet you like creed, and for that, you suck too. Creed is the worst pop music i can think of. One of the woirst, man that shit makes a guys skin crawl, it's sickening, he was cooler that one night he couldnt friggin walk or whatever. Shut , go listen to creed, you dont understand this at all.

that is all, be on your merry way now.

[Patrick]

I think there has been sufficient of this topic for now. Anyone interested in continuing the discussion, feel free to take it to private email.

Patrick