I am admittedly a creature of habit, and I've gotta say I have been to 'most every Cat Power show in San Francisco over the last 10 years.  10 years!  I feel old.  I feel like I've seen Chan Marshall through a lot, and unlike most others, I never gave up on her.  The main thing that brought me back to see her time and time again was simple: her voice.

Despite her mini breakdowns, despite her half finishing songs, despite her spotting ghosts mid set at the Great American and her whispered apologies, despite that one time she had a broken finger and still tried to play a solo show, I have always shown up, cause I just don't think you can beat her smoky voice.  It's just unbeatable.

Last night at the Fillmore, it was in full effect, and this time she was fully fronting a rock band, cordless mic included.  While I was slightly disappointed she wasn't playing guitar or piano herself, I was delighted to see her smiling onstage, and often.  She seemed secure in her place at last.

The show was packed with soul covers; as always she twisted and shook the tunes until they became something almost unrecognizable and felt like her own.  I loved her sad version of "Tracks of My Tears", and I always have enjoyed hearing her sing "I've Been Loving You Too Long (To Stop Now)" -- that one will never die.  I love how she always references her Southern roots in her choices-- last night with Otis Redding.  She also sang "Dark Side of the Street" to fantastic, sultry effect.  Gnarls Barkley's "Crazy" even was slipped in (She must be obsessed with that song, cause I've heard her do it before, over a year ago.) before she was off to Patsy Cline.  She even covered Joni Mitchell's "Blue", a personal favorite of mine.  Oh, and her version of "Satisfaction" was the opposite of anything I've heard her do: an almost dead on copy of the original-- she even sang the choruses of the song for the first time, despite the fact that she included the song on her album The Covers Record.

Miss Leah
Cashier Manager
3 Years Employment

ME: Hi Leah.  So, what music was playing around your house when you were a kid and before you had a choice?

L.B.: The Beatles.

Which albums?

I don't remember any specific one, just kind of all of them.

Do you remember a song or artist in particular that you really attached to and that became an obsession when you were a kid?

There wasn't really any particular artist but there are songs I always remember hearing and I associate with be a kid, two specifically:  One was a Supertramp song and one was "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty.

Wow, I have no idea what that is.

You probably would if you heard it.

Do you remember the first show you ever went to?

The first show I went to was REM when I was in 8th grade, the first like bigger show.  It was in Worcester, Mass.  I can't remember who they played with-- I think it was the Indigo Girls!

I just interviewed Sabrina, who is also from Boston, and I asked her about the scene.  What is your take on the scene and what are/were your favorite bands from there?

Well, when I was in high school a lot of my friends were in local hardcore bands and that scene at the time (like the early 90s) was totally fun.  It was a good time in Boston.  Lots of good times, good energy and at the time we thought it was good music.  Lots of kids were straight edge then and they weren't like preachy about it.  A lot of the bands I liked when I was in high school broke up cause they were local bands and they went to college and got into different things.  I would go to tons of shows and they weren't all hardcore shows, like I saw lots of "alternative" rock shows at the Orpheum.  It's kind of like the Warfield but more decrepit.  They closed it down for a while, so when Sabrina started going it was a totally different generation of shows there.  I saw the Sugarcubes and Sonic Youth there and stuff like that.