Posted by kluster on January 11, 2010
It’s a balmy Summer night in Eastern NSW. Outside Waves Nightclub, and dotted among regulars at the neighbouring pub, eager Sydneysiders and likeminded locals mill about. Cat Power aka Chan Marshall, is coming to Towradgi tonight and, by the look of the line of people snaking its way along the front of the venue, she won’t be short an ear to bend.
Selected for support were The Maladies, a band many we trust have previously refereed to as: “One of the best bands currently playing in Sydney”. Unfortunately a combination of off timing and mark-missing deliveries kept them from living up to expectations this time around.
To the prominent sound of malleted drums Marshall demurely stepped out onto the stage, tea in hand. Also present - and later, more than accounted for – were the Dirty Delta Blues, aka One Of The More Accomplished Bands Currently Making Music.
The Dirty Delta Blues are a musician’s wet dream. With Gregg Foreman’s gospel-inspired organ, Judah Bauer’s bluesy country-esque guitar and Jim White’s drumming… Oh, the drumming. If not for the differentiation of sound you would be hard pressed to decipher whether, during the extended solos, White was using mallet or stick, such was the velocity and surreptitiousness of each stroke.
For someone who admits to suffering terrible stage fright, Marshall did a pretty comprehensive job of convincing the crowd she was right at home, front and centre, at Waves. For more than a hour she prowled the boards - locking eyes with audience members pressed up close, and throwing her delicately massive voice to the furthers corners of the room. A kind of countrified calm descended on the audience. Foul moods were forgotten, grievances set aside and, in the case of one near to us, tears were shed; such is the power of Marshall’s evocative performance.
As the set began to near its conclusion Marshall launched into a mesmerising ‘Where Is My Love’, complete with progressive keys. Flowers were passed to the lucky ones within arms distance and final notes sung. Despite rambunctious insistence from the crowd, no encore ensued. It was a good thing: Cat Power squared is so much more than an abused, over-used cliché. Cat Power is emotion personified.
cat power, dirty delta blues, waves nightclub