CAT POWER and ANDREW BIRD were in Singapore for the Esplanade's Mosaic Series in January!
Photos: (Cat Power, 2007) last.fm & andrewbird.net
It would have been amazingly epic and awesome had I gone for both concerts, but alas! :(
What makes me so sore is that I HAD THE TICKETS! In fact, I bought them the day they went on sale at like 9am in the morning. I was so excited and everything but OF COURSE January just HAD to be the absolute busiest time ever for me. :(:( That means no Andrew Bird concert for me. It's a good thing my friends got me an autograph. :) LOOK!
I heard so many great things about the concert and he sang my absolute favourite song (A Nervous Tic Motion of the Head to the Left). I just wished I could have been there! For those who don't know, Bird is a Chicago-based multi-instrumentalist who sings, WHISTLES (yes, that's right) and plays the voilin, guitar and glockenspiel. For those who have no clue what that last instrument is, see pix below :)
It would have been so epic, but ah, what's a busy girl to do? :P Anyway, enough about that. At least I had Cat Power!! Though if I had to choose between the two, it'd be Andrew Bird all the way. Yeah, I'm still bitter about missing it.
My favourites from the concert!
SO YES. Cat Power! Also known as Chan Marshall. You may have heard this folksy Atlanta-born singer-songwriter on the Juno soundtrack, or caught her in a cameo role as Jude Law's ex-girlfriend in Wong Kar-wai's 'My Blueberry Nights'. All I can say is that I was completely blown away by her voice. I won't say it was perfect, but it came close. That soulful, husky, slightly-haunting voice- it mesmerised me from beginning to end. IT WAS THAT GOOD.
She started the concert with a cover of The Animals' House of the Rising Sun which is not my favourite song, but she really turned it around for me. It sounded so good I'm now hooked on the song. I absolutely loved her performance of 'Where is My Love' and 'The Greatest'. Beautiful.
I was totally expecting some weird antics because I'd heard so much about strange Cat Power concerts overseas, but she was such a sweetheart this time round. I don't have pictures, unfortunately, but at the end of the concert, she passed out flowers to everyone in the first and second rows. I was in a cheap seat way back so I couldn't get anything, sadly, but don't you think that's a lovely touch? I don't see many artists doing stuff like that, going around personally and giving their audience gifts.
I can't wait for the rest of the concerts for the Mosaic series later in the year, especially since I'll be having a little more time on my hands. If all the artists are THIS good, it'd be amazing. I'm looking forward to The XX/Florence + the Machine, Shugo Tokumaru, Kings of Convenience and Au Revoir Simone!