Cat Power @Hiro Ballroom, Feb. 4th

For the second year in a row, I opted to forgo buffalo wings, chili, Italian subs, nachos and the standard grubfest associated with Superbowl Sunday to see a favorite indie female singer. Whereas last year, I caught Jenny Lewis, this year, I met up with Shana and Andrea to see Chan Marshall aka Cat Power play an acoustic gig at the intimate Hiro Ballroom. This also marked a year that I have known Shana. Hooray for good friends! :)

Anyway, Shana and I had caught Cat Power last summer at Town Hall and she was gorgeous. This time she appeared sans the Memphis Rhythm Band, which supported her on my favorite album of 2006, The Greatest, and played some songs solo on guitar or piano, and other songs with her guitarist, Judah Bauer.

We were eager to catch this gig based on the Town Hall show, as well as on the beauty of the Hiro venue itself. However, little did we realize that the freezing cold would be such an annoyance. While waiting in line outdoors waiting well past the advertised door time of 7pm, a cheery Chan jumped out of a cab around 7:10 and told us to warm up in the lobby or something. Ummm, yeah...

We finally got in and sat on the floor near the front by the stage. Unfortunately, the venue seemed not to be well-heated, and a draft from the main doors came into the room so we spent the entire show huddled in our winter coats. Unreal. You would think the bar would've sold hot sake, but nooooooooooo...

No opener for this show, which I took as a blessing. Chan hit the stage around 9 and played for about 90 minutes. Well, I use the term "played" very loosely. For those of you who haven't experienced a Cat Power concert, she is attention deficit disorder personified. She will tell you little stories and jokes in between her glorious songs. She played some songs only partially. She reminded us about her new drug free outlook on life by playing a song referring to MJB (or Mary J. Blige, whom she credits as inspiring her via an Oprah episode to turn her life around), and joking that Starbucks should have her promote a drink called "Sobrie-Tea." She played songs from all over the place, including her now standard cover of "House of the Rising Sun" and a variation of the Stones' "Satisfaction."

I have to admit, the cold made me feel yucky and impatient, so her rambly erratic style didn't sit well with me tonight. And my ass really hurt from sitting on the floor after all that.

So would we want a polished live show during which she would rip through a set without letting that edginess seep in? Perhaps it's that sense of uneasiness that has me hooked to Cat Power, aside from her aching voice. The feeling that at any given moment, it could all spiral away very quickly, so we should appreciate the good bits, just like life itself in many respects.

Even though I have come home to a nightcap of Theraflu and Zicam (go for the faux Starburst chewy squares), I feel oddly satisfied for having gone tonight instead of sitting through the Superbowl. My head is stuffy and slightly numb (and probably worse off for having exposed myself to the elements), but I guess I am somewhat happy to have witnessed Chan Marshall and her bewitching foibles and moments of brilliance, though they were far greater at Town Hall last summer.

Here is a clip of her singing "Empty Shell" from The Greatest:


And here is "The Moon."

Damien Rice @Hiro Ballroom, Nov. 16th

It had been almost two and a half weeks since I saw a concert. During that time, I went to Puerto Rico and have been helping build the new Kung Fu temple (I learned how to lay sheet rock!), but gosh, I felt like I've been in withdrawal!

Tonight headed after work with Bharat to check out Damien Rice at my favorite cool venue, the Hiro Ballroom. Now, I haven't gotten into Damien like the rest of the world has. Loved that "Blower's Daughter" song when it was used for the movie "Closer." But, for whatever reason, I couldn't get behind the mope.

Damien is a gifted singer and songwriter and tonight I had the luck and privilege to sit in the second row for this intimate gig. His voice was so beautiful, and he was supported by a talented band, including Lisa Hannigan, whose voice complimented Damien's so well, and Vivienne Long, whose cello helped augment the emotion that Damien thrusts into his songs.

For nearly two hours, Damien and Co. led us through a good mix of the two albums, "O" and "9." They looked like they were having tons of fun, especially when they did a goofy version of "Cheers, Darlin'" supplemented by red wine. I sure had a lot of fun watching them.



I'm glad I got to experience Damien Rice live in such a small venue. I think I might just have to check him out in a month when he plays at the Beacon...

Here's a pretty song -- "Delicate" -- from his first album:


Saw two of the Music Sluts there.

More pics on my Flickr, and more vids on my YouTube.

Badly Drawn Boy @Hiro Ballroom, Oct. 11th

Went the other night with Wawa to catch Badly Drawn Boy at the Hiro Ballroom, a very cool funky space for gigs. The only other time I had been there was for Gomez earlier this year. This time there were no seats, but it was okay, cos I was able to park myself on the speakers on the side of the stage for a perfect view.

I fell in love with BDB's debut album, The Hour of Bewilderbeast, something I picked up while in agony studying for the Bar Exam. It resonated with me then, and I still listen to it on occasion. I was excited for Damon Gough when he landed the soundtrack to "About A Boy." But then, inexplicably, I lost touch with the music of BDB. I dunno why.

So when the opportunity came to see Damon & Co. at such a great venue, I jumped at it. I realized that I wouldn't know most of the songs, other than the ones from Bewilderbeast etched in my mind. So I went in with little expectation, other than Wawa's warning that we could be in for a marathon here.

Damon has a curious stage persona. It could be him all the time 24/7, but who knows. He's quite churlish (there's a vocab word for you, Bharat!), exclaiming that he's the best singersongwriter to have come out of England. He wears a dumb knit cap. He bashed on Coldplay, Bono, James Blunt. He acted a little annoyed if we didn't whoop it up enough for him.

But then there were the hilarious moments -- he made no secret of his affinity for Bruce Springsteen, wearing a t-shirt that said "Born to Run" and playing a rousing a capella/acoustic version of "Thunder Road" and bits of "Prove It All Night." He also dabbled in a bit of Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and Madonna's "Like A Virgin." As Wawa commented, "he basically made a mockery of [Wawa's] entire iPod."


When BDB played his own material, there were brilliant moments. He rocked out with a full band for most songs, and included an acoustic interlude. He also grabbed the mic sans guitar and danced with a girl in the audience. He played the keyboard. He dabbled on the xylophone right in front of me.



He played for less than 2 hours, making all of us quite happy. I'm getting old, ya know! Anyway, despite only knowing a handful of songs, I was delighted to see him, finally.




These great pics are courtesy of my new camera, a Canon SD700. Thanks to my dear bro for giving his sis such a nice birthday present.

Also ran into Matt of the Music Slut, who gave his cute review here.

Added 10/15: Here's a partial clip I took of BDB covering "Thunder Road":


And here's a clip of BDB singing "Everybody's Stalking":