Beat On, My Metal Heart

Oh, Chan... Chan, Chan, Chan. You are the rare and enigmatic one.

Did y'all catch her performance on Letterman a couple of days ago? She sang her heart out, mimed the shizzile out of that song, and was like, "talk to the hand." I mean, maybe she jot down some lyrics to jog her memory. It happens, you know? Songs are generally made up of lots of words. Can't expect to remember all of them. Sheesh-- she's not a dictionary.

Oh, Chan... we love you.

Cat Power & The Delta Blues- Metal Heart (Live on Late Show with David Letterman)

(Buy Jukebox)

A girl after my own heart

October’s issue of Men’s Vogue names Chan Marshall as an American visionary. Now living in Miami, her covers album is reported to be coming out in January instead of next month so the woman can take a vacation.

No spectacular revelations in the interview I’m afraid-- rehashed some of the old news-- alcoholism, rehab, reborn bona fide rock sweetheart. But doesn’t she look fab though? Sobriety and Chanel look good on her.

Issue on newsstands now.

Surprise, sometimes you'll come around

This has been the summer of many firsts. For example, even though I am a native New Yorker, I have never been to Madison Square Garden. And now that I’ve seen what all the hoopla’s about, I don’t really care if I go again. Overpriced concession snacks, and industrial air conditioning cheapens the concert-going experience (but not the price of the ticket, sadly).

Tonight was the Interpol concert and the night started off poorly. First, it was unbearably cold, and then to top that off, two words: The Liars. Maybe I just don’t get them and their experimental rock. Nothing they played sounded…good. I am fond of their song, “Houseclouds” but between the teeth chattering and making sense of their noise, I just gave up figuring out what the hell they were doing. Knowing Cat Power was coming up kept me going though. She sandwiched her cover songs between “The Greatest” and “Metal Heart,” which is one of my favorites. Still, I was starting to get restless. It’s probably because Soph and I have been spoiled by the beauty of general admission—your proximity to the stage depends solely on your willingness to shove and your resolve to wait patiently in the ticket line for hours. Unaware that there was a general admission ticket for this show, we were stuck with our original seats.

Well, we made the best of it, and when Interpol took the stage, they did not disappoint. Lots of jumping and belting out lyrics warmed us up nicely. The only snafu was when the big screen thing that covered the stage at the beginning of their set got stuck.

“We’re going to take a short break so we can take this fucking screen down and try to see all of you.”- Paul



New York- MSG 9.14.07 Setlist
Pioneer to the Falls
Obstacle 1
C’mere
Narc
Say Hello to The Angels
Pace is the Trick
Mammoth
Hands Away
No I in Threesome
Slow Hands
Rest My Chemistry
Heinrich Maneuver
Evil
Not Even Jail

Encore
NYC
Stella Was a Diver
PDA

Encore #2
Untitled

Another first—2 encores. The fake out was stellar. Despite it all, I could’ve been there all night (Sam Fogarino’s drumming is amazing). Keep those encores coming!

Interpol- Untitled
(Buy Turn On The Bright Lights)

Cat Power's Madison Square Garden show confirmed

Pitchfork confirms that Cat Power will open for Interpol in New York. The former label mates (Cat Power is signed to Matador, as was Interpol for their first two albums) will rock Madison Square Garden on September 14th.

I love Chan Marshall. I know she used to be depressing as all hell, infamous for incoherent sets, and bizzare stage behavior, but I loved her anyway. Everything she sings is poetry. And now she's sobered up, and better than ever.

From her interview in Spin magazine last year:

Do you have stage fright?

It makes my heart beat faster just thinking about it -- all the people and the lights. I don't appear shy, but I'm a very sensitive person.

Do you have to play live? Is that part of your contract?

No not at all. I wanted to.

You enjoy playing live? You don't always seem to enjoy it.

That's the thing about me. People think, Oh she's crazy -- she doesn't like to play. But that's not it. It's like tapping into some communal vein. There's always one person who talks to you after you go through this physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological experience. It's a dualship, a communication between the listener and me, even though you're not talking to each other or looking at each other, there's this space that starts living. This space in the universe that we all share, and it opens up, and then we forget we're in a bar. It's like looking at a painting or watching a horse run. It's that thing that keeps us liking life.

This is one of my favorite songs--

Cat Power- Werewolf (link expired)

(Buy it- You are free)