Cat Power at the Vogue Theatre

Jesus Christ—how is it that we’re back here again? For much of the past half-decade, the Cat Power story has been one of unlikely redemption, the main thread being that Chan Marshall finally managed to get her shit together. Assuming that you are more than a casual fan who happened to hear The Covers Record in Starbucks, you know the drill. Sometime around the release of her excellent Memphis soul-sister album The Greatest (2006), Marshall went from being a wreck on-stage to a confident, professional performer. Six years later, and reviews of Cat Power’s current tour—for her triumphant electro-flavoured new album, Sun—have been less than glowing, this having something to do with performances that have, charitably, been described as erratic. Especially that one at Grand Central Miami. But you know what? Complaining about Marshall being less than perfect on-stage is like bitching about the fact that it rains too much in Vancouver in November. It is what it is, which explains why we’ll be rooting for whichever Cat Power shows up at the Vogue on Friday (November 2).