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Cat Power at the Varsity Theater Setlist
Tour Dates
06/08/2019 Los Angeles State Historic Park
07/18/2019 Super Bock Super Rock Festival Read More
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The great Chan Marshall (or better known as Cat Power) returned to Minneapolis on April 1, 2019, at the Varsity Theater. Her last appearance was at Mill City Nights in October 2012, so it’s been many, many years since she was in the area … and Marshall knew this, because after “Horizon”, she exclaimed, “Damn, it’s good to be back!”
What’s odd about this booking and show is that it may have been a matter of convenience. She’s at the tail end of opening for Mumford and Sons (arena-sized shows), and she just decided to do a few headlining side gigs around the area. It proved to a be a massive success for her, because the show was packed full of old/original fans, plus a whole new generation of young women (the Varsity Theater is in a college area called Dinkytown).
The other strange thing about this show is that there was no opening band. Originally, The Bad Man was supposed to open, but the band wrote, at the 11th hour that, “Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond The Bad Man's control we will NOT be opening for Cat Power at the Varsity Theater tonight. We'll be donating our payout for the show to People Serving People. For those who were planning on seeing The Bad Man tonight--THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.”
Without an opener, it forced Cat Power to actually start the show much earlier than originally listed… so the entire show ended quite early… but on a Monday night, I don’t think anyone minded.
As for the show, Chan Marshall is backed up by a full backing live band, featuring Erik Paparazzi on keys, Adeline Jasso on guitars, and Alianna Kalaba on drums. Marshall’s role was just as a vocalist… and, man, hearing Chan Marshall’s voice again is unbelievably good. She has such an unmistakable voice, and hearing her apply her vocals to a variety of cover songs (anything from Sinead O’Connor’s “I Am Stretched on Your Grave” to Lana Del Rey’s “White Mustang”) was just wonderful… even though these cover songs are often under the “Cat Power Version” (meaning that the songs aren’t necessary recognizable at first because it’s so different).
Like her cover songs, Marshall also would treat her own songs like strange remixes or updated version. Two good examples of this can be heard on one of my favorite Cat Power songs, “Cross Bones Style”. While the music remained the same, the lyrics and even vocal style has changed. She would often mix in other lyrics, like “Nude As The News” in the song. Another example is the set closer, “The Moon”, which you can also interpret as an encore (since most of the band left the stage at this point). The lyrics to “The Moon” has been updated for this live version, so it’s not quite the same as the studio version that you might be familiar with.
I think for diehard fans, hearing such unfamiliar version of Cat Power songs can be a nice re-introduction to her songs… but for casual fans, they might find it annoying that it sounded nothing like the records. Still, despite that, everyone at the show can agree that it’s great to have Cat Power back in the city. Let’s hope it’s not another seven years before she comes back.
P.S. Apologies for the poor photo quality. As with Cat Power’s previous appearance, she does not allow photographers at her show. These photos were taken from a phone.
What’s odd about this booking and show is that it may have been a matter of convenience. She’s at the tail end of opening for Mumford and Sons (arena-sized shows), and she just decided to do a few headlining side gigs around the area. It proved to a be a massive success for her, because the show was packed full of old/original fans, plus a whole new generation of young women (the Varsity Theater is in a college area called Dinkytown).
The other strange thing about this show is that there was no opening band. Originally, The Bad Man was supposed to open, but the band wrote, at the 11th hour that, “Due to unforeseen circumstances beyond The Bad Man's control we will NOT be opening for Cat Power at the Varsity Theater tonight. We'll be donating our payout for the show to People Serving People. For those who were planning on seeing The Bad Man tonight--THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT.”
Without an opener, it forced Cat Power to actually start the show much earlier than originally listed… so the entire show ended quite early… but on a Monday night, I don’t think anyone minded.
As for the show, Chan Marshall is backed up by a full backing live band, featuring Erik Paparazzi on keys, Adeline Jasso on guitars, and Alianna Kalaba on drums. Marshall’s role was just as a vocalist… and, man, hearing Chan Marshall’s voice again is unbelievably good. She has such an unmistakable voice, and hearing her apply her vocals to a variety of cover songs (anything from Sinead O’Connor’s “I Am Stretched on Your Grave” to Lana Del Rey’s “White Mustang”) was just wonderful… even though these cover songs are often under the “Cat Power Version” (meaning that the songs aren’t necessary recognizable at first because it’s so different).
Like her cover songs, Marshall also would treat her own songs like strange remixes or updated version. Two good examples of this can be heard on one of my favorite Cat Power songs, “Cross Bones Style”. While the music remained the same, the lyrics and even vocal style has changed. She would often mix in other lyrics, like “Nude As The News” in the song. Another example is the set closer, “The Moon”, which you can also interpret as an encore (since most of the band left the stage at this point). The lyrics to “The Moon” has been updated for this live version, so it’s not quite the same as the studio version that you might be familiar with.
I think for diehard fans, hearing such unfamiliar version of Cat Power songs can be a nice re-introduction to her songs… but for casual fans, they might find it annoying that it sounded nothing like the records. Still, despite that, everyone at the show can agree that it’s great to have Cat Power back in the city. Let’s hope it’s not another seven years before she comes back.
P.S. Apologies for the poor photo quality. As with Cat Power’s previous appearance, she does not allow photographers at her show. These photos were taken from a phone.
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Cat Power at Varsity Theater, Minneapolis (01 Apr 2019) |
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