I’m told that time moves in linear fashion, but that still can’t explain why twenty years can seem like it goes by in the flash of an eye. Two decades ago Cat Power (aka Chan Marshall) put out a career-defining record, one that resonates deeply among her fans. At the rail I talked with a woman who last saw Marshall in concert when that tour hit Boston.
Stax/Volt selections over the PA before the start of the show was the appropriate choice, as Marshall left some of the spikier and sparser feel of her music for a lusher, soul-soaked sound of the South, where she hails from. She knew who she needed to enlist to help craft the sound she was looking for, and while the Aussie duo of Mick Turner and Jim White of The Dirty Three were so complementary to Moon Pix, she tapped into some true giants of the Memphis scene. Recorded at the vaunted Ardent studio, enlisting the rhythm section of Leroy Hodges and Steve Potts (Booker T and the MGs) and Leroy’s brother Teenie Hodges (provided guitar work for Al Green and Syl Johnson among countless others) was a brilliant stroke that helped create this masterpiece, the aptly named The Greatest.
Marshall had most of the same band who supported her on the Dylan at Royal Albert Hall record, and while Arsun Sorrenti wasn’t even born when Hodges was decades on from creating his iconic work on “Take Me To The River” or “Here I Am,” he had the right feel and tone to match the recordings. Longtime collaborator Erik Paparozzi anchored the low end, meshing smoothly with drummer Josh Adams while Greg Foreman provided excellent service on piano and electric keys.
Resplendent in a white pant suit, Marshall was in good spirits right out of the gate. She’d cup her hand and take a step or two back from the mic to create her own reverb, and an effective tactic. On “The Moon” she employed autotune which seemed like a strange decision, especially when her voice is perfect as is. “Islands” was introduced as punk rockers embracing their hippie sides, and “Hate” was minor key damage, Marshall stalking across the stage with two mics in her hand.
After she cracked a joke, she mentioned that perhaps Dave Chappelle would ask her on tour as support. “Chan, why don’t you open for me in Chicago?”
“Really”
“Hell no bitch” as Marshall landed the punch line with a convincing impression and a laugh.
She mentioned playing upstairs at the Middle East as her first Boston area show and then learned co-owner Joseph Sater died the day before as audience members informed her of the sad news. She huddled with her band and then did an audible to change the printed set list order to play “I’ll Be Seeing You,” dedicated to Sater.
As the encore came nearer to a close, she said “We’re gonna do a song we only did in Minneapolis,” “Nothing Compares 2 U” pretty much made Sinead O’Connor an international star, and Marshall’s reading was tender and heartfelt. As a recording artist she’s been brilliant at interpreting others’ songs, from This Kind Of Punishment to Michael Hurley to “Frank Sinatra* to James Brown, and “Try Me” was also played, one of the first songs Brown released and also recently released by Marshall in the Redux EP.
Beaming and leaving the stage, she stated “And then we gotta go, because my contract says…. A bunch of bullshit.” I’m sure that a lot of the crowd will be back when she returns.
(note – Chan hasn’t approved photo passes for over a decade now, so the lead photo is from 2009, when she played with The Pretenders at Bank of America Pavilion in Boston)
