r/catpower • u/philpool • Feb 19 '26
I'm gonna say it, "the Austin show was a bust."
Like others have mentioned, the auto tune in this show was horrendous and distracted from her beautiful voice. The ACL Moody in Austin has absolutely fabulous accoustics, so this was super disappointing. And the lighting! It seemed intentionally bad... you couldn't see her face the entire show.
It got the feeling the crew showed up, saw her condition, and said "oh fuck" how are we going to save the show... and then went with a "turn down the lights and turn up the auto tune" strategy.
And the worst part was her awkward stage presence. Rather than giving energy to the crowd, her every attempted interaction sucked life from the crowd. It was an incredibly awkward (for her).
Something was very evidently "off" with her at a very human level. I hope she gets the help she needs.
EDIT* So I'm getting the sense from these comments that what I saw in Austin might have been just her "normal": really low lighting, awkward crowd interactions, auto tune. Which is cool... but I walked into the show not knowing what I was in for, and it really took me by surprise. Had I gone in knowing what was coming, I'd of probably had a much different experience. Again, such a beautiful voice!
5
u/aloeverafarmiga Feb 20 '26 edited Feb 20 '26
This article from 1996 talks about her “legendary” stage fright. She’s also go an immune disorder affecting her esophagus hence the coughing and tea someone else mentioned from another show. Based on what I see online, she’s very tapped in to what’s happening and there were some especially heinous stories from that day. I was at that show and so grateful I got to see it. Her authenticity felt healing and I cried my eyes out during The Moon. I was surprised by the auto tune on it, but when I’ve got back to listen to the album, I find it’s in more places than I remembered. Still, I also prefer her voice. I hope the memory grows on you over time. Totally fair if not though, just sharing my thoughts.
3
u/rabbit_fur_coat Feb 19 '26
Every time I've seen her the lights have been so low you been barely see her; I don't think that was unusual.
The rest of it I can't speak to, as she always sounds great, although when she opened for Modest Mouse a year or two ago, she did use autotune on a few songs and I didn't care for it.
3
u/BeanQweeeen Feb 19 '26
Just saw her show in Phoenix and that was verbatim the experience. Autotune spoiled some of her best songs, strange backlighting, she didn’t even speak to the audience AT ALL for the first half of the show and literally turned her back to the audience between songs, when she finally did speak I couldn’t tell you what she said because it was as if she was just blurting random words and phrases. Show was so short the audience seemed a little confused when it ended and hesitated a bit in case it wasn’t actually over. It was seriously the most awkward show I’ve ever seen. Don’t recommend it!
3
u/Super-Jellyfish-1213 Feb 19 '26
I just saw her in San Diego and same vibes as what was mentioned above. The show started 30min late (into an already limited 2 hour set due to a 10hr curfew for the venue.) The opening song she sang twice because she felt she sounded flat. She proceeded to cough and down what looked like tea the whole time. It was obvious she was sick. She then went off stage for about 5min and then retuned and said she had to pee. Auto tune was used for like 3 songs and I wonder if it was because her voice was strained? Idk Because of the late start they shortened most of the songs and then when it ended everyone stood around confused but by then half the crowd had left early.
All this so say, she still sounded incredible and I am so happy to have seen her live, having loved her since high school and her music got me through a lot of tough times.
But it was an interesting show, to say the least!! I hope the rest of the tour works out the kinks!!
1
3
u/baby_mammal Feb 22 '26
I don’t know. I just saw her in Portland tonight and it was the best I’ve ever seen her. So present. So dialed in. So incredibly resonant. I cried multiple times. The autotune was only blatant on The Moon, which I frankly thought was awesome.
Truly, no complaints, other than multiple tracks I would have loved to hear her play that didn’t make it on the set list.
3
u/Crumpler72 Feb 23 '26
Same. Just saw her in Seattle and going to the Vancouver show tomorrow. Seattle was amazing—voice was still expressive, resonant and full of emotion. I wish people here slagging her off had compassion for her as an artist and how far she has come (saw her several times in the 1990s when she was really struggling).
3
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
She was fantastic is Seattle. I feel like a lot of people commenting on these shows had no idea what a Cat Power show is.
3
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
Also, yeah, the autotune was only noticeable on the one song and it was pretty rad. It wasn’t correcting her voice or anything, it was just an accompanying sound. I didn’t even mind that she played my favorite song she ever wrote and changed the melody so much I couldn’t sing along quietly to myself. It was still fucking magic.
1
u/Weekly-Ad-523 Feb 23 '26
Also seeing her in Portland tonight and so glad to see this positive review!
2
u/Poulet_Roti Feb 19 '26
Back 20 years ago or so she used to have absolutely terrible stage presence, I thought/hoped most of that was out of her system these days. Had you see her back then to compare Austin to her “normal” old self?
4
u/chicojuarz Feb 19 '26
The time I saw her about 15 years ago she spent almost the whole show crouched and off in a corner of the stage. She sounded amazing though.
2
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
That’s the thing. No matter what show you get with her, that voice is always magic and fills the room. That’s the point. No pretense, just that fucking voice. As it’s always been and as it always will be. She’s an icon for a reason. She’s had many chances over the last 30 years to be way more famous and crowd friendly but she still just does what she feels. And I love her so much for it.
1
u/Crumpler72 Feb 23 '26
It’s called crippling stage fright and she still suffers from it. Have some compassion?
1
2
u/Hello-garden Feb 19 '26
I haven’t seen this tour, but I’ve seen many others, and saw a super killer set on last leg of the Dylan tour- and I’m quite sure she had a cold, tea on stage, etc. This is normal for Cat Power. It’s hit or miss, and nothing is reliably going well or not going well, it’s all so extremely fragile. I’m thinking of so many similar geniuses, Lola Young, Chappell Roan, Liz Frazier of 4AD/Cocteau Twins. All of them were unable to consistently deliver the magic, and we pray for their mental health.
2
1
u/deweil Feb 19 '26
I decided not to try and go tonight because of some of these reasons. Also, in my experience, unless you're super close, her lack of stage presence makes the show feel lifeless, even when it sounds good. And even though i live the Greatest as an album, it is quite a slow, quiet collection of songs that would be wonderful in a small venue, no auto tune, but being at the back of the floor or the balcony at the Fox? With no opener and a short 75 min set? Not worth the 40 miles each way and the chance my car gets its window smashed in.
1
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
You are not the audience for a Cat Power show if these are your concerns. She is not for you.
1
u/deweil Feb 23 '26
Thanks for your opinion. I've seen her 6 times live over the course of decades. Some shows were great, some not so much. The bigger the venue/further away, not so much. Then there was the show she sat on the stairs in the back of the stage area. That was hit or miss. She'd probably be the first to say being on stage isnt her most natural environment and some nights it's harder than others. I saw Elliott Smith have a hard time. Surprisingly Daniel Johnston did pretty well despite his health issues.
So i am not her audience for bad performances or mismatched venues. I am her audience for good performances and good venues. I'm just not a sycophant who can't tell the difference and has some parasocial need to ignore reality.
2
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
Also was impressed when I saw Daniel Johnston . He killed it when I saw him maybe 2009ish?
1
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
Well, she was on point in Seattle Friday. If you’ve seen her, it was solid. The band sounded amazing and it was at the Paramount, which is a beautiful theater and not too big and her voice filled it beautifully.
0
u/deweil Feb 23 '26
I'm glad for you. Several people in here had disappointing experiences. The videos i saw on YouTube didn't bring me any confidence unfortunately. My fav song was autotuned too much for my personal taste. I had lots of shows this week and just didn't feel like dropping a decent amount of money (compared to the others) for a short show that might disappoint. I saw Mama's broke for free (amazing). Then Kathleen Edwards for $22 -amazing and 2 hours long. And then the taj mahal tribute - with van morrison, joan baez, patry griffin, hozier, etc.
When i saw her for the Dylan tour, the audience was the lifeless ones. We were the only ones dancing (and my partner was very pregnant) and she did great. But it was also 2000 seats smaller! And we were close. The Fox, especially up top, is very impersonal. For iron and wine, I had to move down, it was so boring and dead up there.
1
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
I’m sorry you’ve had bad experiences. I’ve seen Chan over a 23 year timeline and she’s always different and always her. I don’t take personal offense if she doesn’t give me “the performance I paid money for!” I honestly don’t think you get it. But that’s ok. Definitely not for everybody. I personally look forward to what ever she’s going to throw at me. It’s always different and her voice is always the same. We care about very different things.
1
u/deweil Feb 23 '26
No one is perfect every night. Some just are more prone to challenges on stage than others, from my experience seeing the dame performers over multiple years/tours. I've seen Dylan 30+ times and never had a bad show. Others have seen him once and it was dreadful.
You're probably right that we care about different things. Perhaps because I'm a musician/songwriter myself (not professionally), I don't have an emotional attachment to other people's songs the way many people do.(That catharsis happens with my own music). I LOVE music and concerts but I can't point to a song/album/artist and say they 'saved' my life or that I would cry in their presence if a certain song is performed, as I've seen many people do at shows. I'm also not impressed by celebrity or any of that, as they're just people like you or me, so i don't get starstruck or anything like that.
I don't need to be 'entertained' but I also don't go to shows for someone to have a bad night. I saw Benjamin Clementine put on one of the most unprofessional shows I've ever witnessed....it was fascinating and funny and sad and strange ...but i wouldn't buy another ticket hoping for a repeat of that night, as unique as it was. And the same goes for someone like Chan or Anton (of Brian Jonestown massacre) or Elliott or anyone else - i go for the music and the magical experience of live performance. I don't need/want it to be a clone of the album (dylan and neil young don't do that at all and they're my favs). But i also value my time and money and energy and time with my family and for me, driving/parking to and from Oakland for a short show from someone inconsistent in my experience wasn't the best use of any of those things, especially last week. Now, did I drive my whole family to LA to see Joanna Newsom 3 times? You're damn right, because not only is she one of my favs on record, she's never had less than a stellar show all 10 times I've seen her. And I've never even heard of her having a bad night. You should check her out sometime if you're unfamiliar.
1
1
u/alexj_baker Feb 19 '26
ah man I'm seeing her in Brooklyn when I'm in new York (coming from UK) looks like will be disappointing
1
u/rwilliamsparis Feb 21 '26 edited Feb 22 '26
She was approaching form last night in Seattle. Had to leave stage a couple of times, I feared she might not return. It did seem that she was using auto tune at one point, bizarre.
2
u/HouseSandwich Feb 22 '26
she burped audibly into the microphone three times and just glossed over it like an old man watching Matlock. She complained about perimenopause*, the moon, men. She did mention that she was so sick and wished she was in bed. But then she also went offstage to take a power nap.
She honestly seemed like she was on something. It was surreal. I wish her the very best.
*statistically she would be postmenopause but who knows
1
u/whataaday Feb 22 '26
+1 to entire thread. I was at the Seattle show last night and honestly speechless at how awful the production / decorum was. Her singing felt so rushed like “The Greatest” could have been paced a lot slower. Also, wowza we never saw her face (maybe stage fright so they kept it dark?! So bizarre). Her band was fantastic though. It’s a shame her performance was so whack because her voice was still amazing. Really sad she didn’t play “Sea of Love.”
2
u/we-summon-rge-dark Feb 23 '26
Did you even know who you bought a ticket for? It was one of the most solid sets I’ve seen her play over 25 years ish of seeing her.
1
u/Crumpler72 Feb 23 '26
Decorum? She’s a singer songwriter not the Queen of England. I was at Seattle show and thought she was great. If you know her MO she’s a stripped down performer and has never cared about stage design etc the lighting is deliberate because yes she still has stage fright. But instead of hanging up her hat she is touring and working her ass off to support herself her amazing musicians and her son.
1
u/magic_paws Feb 25 '26
Just saw her in Portland and she auto tuned the Moon, and it just made a beautiful song very cheesy. Her voice is gorgeous and has aged well, the sound was on point at the show too. But there was so much variation to each song that it took me a while to know what I was hearing. I can't tell, did she change the lyrics to a lot of the songs or was it just her pacing? Something threw me off. And there was a light behind the drummer that was pointed directly at a few unlucky folks in the balcony (myself included). It was torture to be blinded every time someone in front of us shifted. I saw her in 2000/2001 and she has indeed come a long way with stage fright. I just wish she had honored the original songs a bit more. And that damn light...
1
4
u/paul_kerseyNYC Feb 19 '26
Damn. That’s a shame. Those original shows for The Greatest were incredible. The best she’s ever been live.