Fight the Power

It’s time for two of indie-rock’s most enduring “Power” players to battle it out. There won’t be any physical blows—though we’d love to witness that—nor will they even share a stage. This head-to-head deathmatch, in which each opponent is graded in select categories, exists only in the pages of CityBeat.
In this corner: She’s a feisty creature who overcame onstage freakouts and alcoholism to let herself be seduced and emboldened by soul music: Readers, we give you Cat Power! And in the other corner: They’re a six-strong troupe of lo-fi lovers whose musical stylings seem to have sprung from a lysergic sugar cube in a fairy forest: Please welcome Elf Power! Now, let the battle begin.

Hometown: Atlanta, Ga. (Cat Power) vs. Athens, Ga. (Elf Power), aka the capital of the Dirty South vs. a college town Esquire once billed as “the mother of modern music.” Edge: Draw. We’re still talking about Georgia, after all

Emotional stability: San Diegans who’ve been to Cat Power shows in days of yore know that singer Chan Marshall—fueled by a fifth of Scotch and then some—used to go extreme emo in zero-to-60. She has since gotten sober, following a nervous breakdown and cancelled tour—documented by The New York Times in 2006—but we’re not counting out a relapse. Elf Power, as far as we know, keeps its shit together. Edge: Elf Power.

Fame & glory: In 2007, Marshall was the first woman to win the prestigious Shortlist prize—for her soulful seventh album, The Greatest. She’s been photographed by Richard Avedon for The New Yorker, and last year designer Karl Lagerfeld threw her a surprise birthday party a couple of days before she performed at his couture show for Chanel in Paris (at the end of which he cooed “J’Adore Cat Power!”). Elf Power is—wait, who is Elf Power again? In all fairness, the band came close to commercial success with 2004’s T-Rex-inspired, power-pop blowout Walking with the Beggar Boys (which had a truly killer title track), but they lost their mainstream momentum soon after. This one is hands—er, paws—down Chan. Edge: Cat Power

Magical powers: Cat Power fanatics might claim Marshall has mystical capabilities, but, dude, Elf Power has elves on its side. Edge: Elf Power

Covers: Elf Power wowed the indie cognoscenti with 2002’s Nothing’s Going to Happen, in which they covered (with retro fuzz-guitar zeal) bands as varied as The Misfits, Rory Erickson, Bad Brains, Hüsker Dü and The Jesus and Mary Chain. They owned it.
Cat Power, on the other hand, has released two cover albums—2000’s aptly named The Covers Record and this year’s Jukebox (she also did an amazing version of Smog’s “Bathysphere” on 1996’s What Would the Community Think). On Covers, she reinterprets classics by The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan and The Velvet Underground with spare sensuality. Her version of “(Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” revived the played-out anthem by clinging to its core of heat-rippled tension and frustration.
Jukebox has some good moments and some awkward ones. The Georgia peach shines with a sultry and pronoun-appropriate take on Hank Williams’ “Rambling [Wo]Man,” but she botches a cover of her own song, “Metal Heart” (from Moon Pix), which, from this day forward, should remain untouched. Edge: Draw

Love from namesakes: Two cats were polled for this showdown. Upon hearing Jukebox, Baron—aka “Fatty”—didn’t even raise his head. We had to poke him to make sure he was still breathing. Dizzy, on the other hand, meowed and stuck her tail in the air. We think that means she likes it. We were unable to locate any elves, nor very small people with pointy ears, so we instead played Elf Power’s latest, 2008’s In a Cave, for our garden gnome. Like his brethren in statuary, his expression remained unchanged. Edge: Cat Power

Through the ages: Marshall’s evolution has been extraordinary to observe since she got her start in the mid-’90s. Her earliest songs—haunting guitar-and-piano arrangements tinged with folk, country and blues—only whispered at what was to come, while her smoky, nakedly emotional voice shouted her arrival.
She’s since become ever more nuanced and sophisticated. With The Greatest (recorded in Memphis with legendary soul musicians like rhythm guitarist Mabon “Teenie” Hodges), she made music that proved accessible to the mainstream without declawing her indie sensibilities. Jukebox doesn’t say much about Marshall’s current artistic explorations (other than to reiterate that she’s still a little bit country, a little bit tortured soul), but we eagerly await her next step.
Elf Power—which also emerged in the mid-’90s as part of the Elephant 6 Collective (Apples in Stereo, Olivia Tremor Control)—made pysch-pop worth remembering with 1997’s magical mystery tour-de-force, When the Red King Comes. Several neo-psychedelic efforts followed before the glammy, geeky Beggar Boys and 2006’s Back to the Web, a back-to-lo-fi-basics affair that ditched otherworldly, stream-of-consciousness head-trips for more literal, life-related lyrics. But Elf Power gets bonus points for persevering and putting out great music even without the fanfare that Cat Power consistently enjoys. Edge: Draw

Sex appeal: The nastiest allergies couldn’t keep us from cuddling Cat Power. Marshall, a smoking-hot (and chain-smoking) Southern belle, is clearly a wildcat. Making out with six indie-rockers (of both sexes) sounds about as exciting as a Law & Order marathon—we’d do it if nothing else were on. Edge: Cat Power

THE WINNER: Cat Power would win in an alley fight, but Elf Power might sprinkle our cocktails with fairy dust. We like fairy dust. Fuggit—let’s call it a draw.     

Cat Power performs at 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 16, with Appaloosa at 4th & B. 619-231-4343. www.catpowerjuke
box.com