Cat Power in Concert

"Excuse me. Photographer girl-what's you name?"
Announcing it not only to her but the dead quiet venue, "Nilina."
"Can you take pictures after the show cause it's really distracting me."
And so began the second of two Cat Power shows this past Saturday at the Aladdin Theatre in Portland. Quickly she returned to the strings as I returned to my seat.
Earlier that evening she played a set in the seven o'clock hour that she described as "horrible" and "awful" many a time. Due to start at seven, the only inkling that she would indeed be playing was a quick wave from the side of the stage just after 7:30 and then a descent back into the shadows at which point my comrade and I left for another show, making the resolution to return for the 10:30 p.m. set.
And return we did, just as Cat Power did, once again to a nearly sold-out house to play solo in support of The Greatest. Barefoot and in skinny jeans that she lectured on twice, Chan played the first three tracks of the set seated and on the guitar the last of the trio being 'Could We', then seamlessly transitioned into 'The Greatest' on the piano. Previous to the performance I read previews that questioned how much of the album would translate with out the rich horns and other accompanying instruments, but their not being there didn't disrupt.
Soon she was standing, side of the stage on the right, guitar in hand to indulge in a cover of 'Hit the Road Jack' with a somewhat schizophrenic quality to it as she after inserting her name sung both parts as if having a conversation between herself and Jack in the song.
Commissioning a cigarette from the audience after admitting her desire for one, she soon squatted down at the side of the stage to grab the light then continued to stay there in conversation with the fellow smoker. The large seated audience watched on as it continued and within a few minutes she had returned to her seat beside the piano to indulge in the cigarette in near silence until she made a remark about living in Portland and a member of the audience urged her to tell of her experience.

She hemmed and hawed over picking what to divulge of her memories of her three and a half month long stay in Oregon during which time she lived in Portland. Chan advised of best menu items to aid a hang over and shared an almost serendipitous tale of wanting a job at the YWCA assisting with an after-school program. For three and a half months she had gone after the job-calling and applying only never to receive a celebratory call back. Then one day she got a call from her booker of a show booked in New York and that she'd have to leave Portland immediately for the show. On that very day she returned home to find a message waiting on her answering machine that she had indeed gotten the job at the YWCA. She instead went to New York for the show, then ended up canceling the tour in an effort to confront and end her alcoholism.
The smoking continued with her tipping her ashes into the left upper pocket of her button up shirt, looking out to the crowd and a feeling of anticipation coupled with a slight bit of uneasiness began to emanate.
Through out the set she consistently responded to audience feedback-to someone questioning if she had just tipped it's ashes into her coffee (she had) then continued to drink it.
When she couldn't remember the keys to a song mid-way through the show, she began several false starts each accidentally feeding into 'The Greatest'. From her description is was because she hadn't played it in so long and her initial forbearance about playing it was she didn't think she'd be able to remember the lyrics, but that was not the case. So she'd begin and stop and ask out to the anonymous faces, "Is that right?" four times before being able to play it as written. Then in the middle of the song after singing a lyric she stopped again to ask if that was really in the song. After a moderate response that it wasn't she launched into a short telling that it was supposed to have been, sat motionless, then returned to finishing the song.

At the end of each coupling of songs through out the set she'd elaborately shake her hands in a duel signal that the song was over seemingly as a signal for clapping and also to reciprocate the response.
Playing a host of covers from the requested 'Freebird' straight into 'Satisfaction' both on guitar Cat Power's versatility was fully intact, not only visible in the instrument transitions, but between styles and performing each song to the point where one would believe it to be fully her own.
To achieve different strengths and styles of vocals she circled the mic with her mouth, singing directly into on some occasions, other singing as far away as possible from her position or to the side, often including all in one song.
She took a stab at being a comedian multiple times. After commissioning yet another cigarette from a member of the audience and casting it as "intermission," she after a pause, told two related, pointless but entertaining stories about her French friend and Bob Dylan, including hilarious impressions of the French friend-accent and all.
Moments of inappropriate laughter from the audience during the entire set were offset by the multiple occasions that she burped into the mic, addressing the last one by saying, "I shouldn't do that."
Finishing up the tipping of ashes into her pocket she spouted, "If you're a Bob Dylan fan you'll know what this means. . . No you won't," ending her attempt at a joke.
The evening was truly an exchange and a equal exchange of music, conversation, and silence.
She brought up her sobriety on two occasions and admitted that she realized she "was whacked out" and that's not what she wanted to be and how "great it is not to be depressed." She also talked about that she can't wait for fall tour when she'll be back with a band-a band that have no baggage.
Penetrating moments of silence as she sorted her next move became repetitious and as the night rolling onto the a.m. the audience began to get anxious for the off kilter night to come to a close with movement in seats, audience departures, and repeated cups tipping over.

The absolute highlight of the set was 'Names', performed soulfully and languid.
To conclude she once again took her place at stage right shortly after playing 'Willie' and launched into a close infinantly greater than the already above sufficient set she'd just been playing. Southern accent out in tow she shared the story of how her grandmother used to tape her and her sister singing when they were younger doing covers of Kenny Rogers and Oreo commercials. Sounding like a book on tape-a great book on tape, she changed her voice several times to fully embody that of her grandmother, that of her sister in childhood, and herself in childhood, singing and talking. The pain and happiness of her childhood was visible and the segment was truly captivating.
Seeing out a two and a half hour long set, she finished the bit, did a hlf circle wave, then dashed behind the curtains to congratulatory clapping and an audience all the wiser.
Seemingly free of society's conditionings and fear, the Cat Power Portland saw was fragile near broken, but easily triumphant still.

Related/unrelated side note:
Once when on the beach in high school I realized I had never been chased by seagulls. So I took an entire jar of animal crackers and started running ("And I run, I run so far away"), crumbling them up in my hand at the same time. They all started to flock towards me-hundreds and hundreds and that's kinda like Cat Power stoppoing her song and asking my name-that had never happened to me before and now it has-yet another thing to cross off my list of things to do thatI didn't even know needed doing.