Ramblin' (Wo)man

It’s widely known among Cat Power’s fans that her live shows are hit or miss. She’s often prone to fits of stage fright, mostly due to her soft spot for the bottle. At Friday night’s Wiltern show, however, she was surprisingly playful, engaging with the audience and backup band for almost two hours. I had expected onstage brooding and intermittent swaying, but she is a fine dancer, blending old school go-go moves with the occasional break to fidget with her army green button down shirt. The only downside is that she relied too heavily on her covers material, probably in promotion of her latest album, and only played a few of her older songs. Either way, I could listen to her well-worn voice recite the backs of cereal boxes for two hours.