Cat Power- The Greatest live on Jools Holland
i want to like cat power more than i do. you’d think a breathy female vocalist would be right up my alley, but for some reason she doesn’t do it for me. reading about her past exploits at concerts didn’t help. i know she’s turned over a new leaf, but that first impression lingers. she does earn points, though, for this performance (and for the song ‘lived in bars’). i’d heard the song somewhere before, but i hadn’t been sold on it. i didn’t really get into it until i decided to watch this performance. i can’t say why this performance does it for me. i really can’t. i don’t think she does anything remarkable vocally. visually, it’s not really different from most performances you’ll see on a late-night televison show. i do feel she immerses herself into the song and i think there is a certain chemistry between her and the supporting vocalists. i don’t think that really explains why i prefer this performance of ‘the greatest’ to the studio version. perhaps i’ll never know. and, really, how much does it matter? you like what you like. anyway, i hope you enjoy it.
-the skinny miracle
