15 November 2003
Gig reviews from a reasonable guy who went minitouring after Cat Power in Australia:
Part 1:
Sydney The Basement (Sold Out). This was by far the most difficult venue to obtain tickets. It was by far the smallest and most personal venue. Around 200 capacity. Dinner was served to about 100 reserved tables. I was only able to gain entry by pure destiny, as the show was sold out for weeks in advance. I obtained tickets through a gentleman that listed them on EBay (so unbelievable!). It was a solo show.
Chan was spouting a flimsy white dress with jeans under. When she came out initially, she started interacting with us (audience) and had no predetermined list of material to perform (shocking a). After a few minutes I said "In my Kitchen" and to my suprise she not only performed it but did so completely "on" (if you have seen a show you probably know what I mean by on) untli the first chorus and then explained that the song got really loud after that and didn't want to do the rest (Cool). I had the waitress give her a double jack Daniels. She said 'i wasn't going to drink tonight... Anti Depresents and Alcohol...(good shit intended meaning). She seemed to like the jack though later i learned she prefers high grade Scotch. A bit later she asked "how do you like my new dress" (whistles). A man said "it would look better without the jeans" (I don't know this man but I saw him in the mirror yesterday) a woman said "he's a regular asshole" the man said "its a dress man". Chan smiled, as to suggest he's alright thanks for the compliment. (Sorry to do all this crowd interaction stuff but it really was the most poigniant aspect of many of the shows). It was as if these were pieces of montage art with the audience as medium.
There were a myriad of extended discussions about certain pieces of work. Chan was extremely interested in learning more about the people in the audience. Carrying on full scale "private" discussions with many of them. I was struck by the shear volume of Piano pieces, heretofor unbeknown to me (I had yet to here "you are free" with any focus). About half of the songs started were finished, but every single stitch of work was straight from the muse. When the muse left the work abruptly stopped. Chan did not appologize (I only mention this because she often does for no apparent reason).
Chan interjected on more than one occassion that the promoters did not like all the audience interaction stuff and called her unprofessional. She specifically said "fuck that shit" and pushed the concept of 'this is who we are we care about each other deal with it" ("" my interpretation). This audience was very receptive to this. As if they had come to "feel" Chan and were interested in the work only in so far as it presented a feeling of understanding and comprehension of who/what this is. Rather than being about a bunch of songs. This show was about a bunch of moments & interactions (that I truely treasure), some of which related to songs. It was truely one of the most unique and beautiful things I have witnessed.
The club was divided into 3 separate areas with unique offerings.
One was a lounge which many of the musicians hung out after the show with the audience. We all drank A LOT. If there are any specific questions regarding this or the others shows i can answer them. This is what i took away and strikes me as significant.
Part 1:
Sydney The Basement (Sold Out). This was by far the most difficult venue to obtain tickets. It was by far the smallest and most personal venue. Around 200 capacity. Dinner was served to about 100 reserved tables. I was only able to gain entry by pure destiny, as the show was sold out for weeks in advance. I obtained tickets through a gentleman that listed them on EBay (so unbelievable!). It was a solo show.
Chan was spouting a flimsy white dress with jeans under. When she came out initially, she started interacting with us (audience) and had no predetermined list of material to perform (shocking a). After a few minutes I said "In my Kitchen" and to my suprise she not only performed it but did so completely "on" (if you have seen a show you probably know what I mean by on) untli the first chorus and then explained that the song got really loud after that and didn't want to do the rest (Cool). I had the waitress give her a double jack Daniels. She said 'i wasn't going to drink tonight... Anti Depresents and Alcohol...(good shit intended meaning). She seemed to like the jack though later i learned she prefers high grade Scotch. A bit later she asked "how do you like my new dress" (whistles). A man said "it would look better without the jeans" (I don't know this man but I saw him in the mirror yesterday) a woman said "he's a regular asshole" the man said "its a dress man". Chan smiled, as to suggest he's alright thanks for the compliment. (Sorry to do all this crowd interaction stuff but it really was the most poigniant aspect of many of the shows). It was as if these were pieces of montage art with the audience as medium.
There were a myriad of extended discussions about certain pieces of work. Chan was extremely interested in learning more about the people in the audience. Carrying on full scale "private" discussions with many of them. I was struck by the shear volume of Piano pieces, heretofor unbeknown to me (I had yet to here "you are free" with any focus). About half of the songs started were finished, but every single stitch of work was straight from the muse. When the muse left the work abruptly stopped. Chan did not appologize (I only mention this because she often does for no apparent reason).
Chan interjected on more than one occassion that the promoters did not like all the audience interaction stuff and called her unprofessional. She specifically said "fuck that shit" and pushed the concept of 'this is who we are we care about each other deal with it" ("" my interpretation). This audience was very receptive to this. As if they had come to "feel" Chan and were interested in the work only in so far as it presented a feeling of understanding and comprehension of who/what this is. Rather than being about a bunch of songs. This show was about a bunch of moments & interactions (that I truely treasure), some of which related to songs. It was truely one of the most unique and beautiful things I have witnessed.
The club was divided into 3 separate areas with unique offerings.
One was a lounge which many of the musicians hung out after the show with the audience. We all drank A LOT. If there are any specific questions regarding this or the others shows i can answer them. This is what i took away and strikes me as significant.
