Live Review: Cat Power, Julia Jacklin

It’s easy to forget how dope the zoo is – resist the urge to pet lemurs, watch a giraffe have a terrifying frolic, promise yourself you’re gonna ride a zebra one day. So much to do.

Some of the enclosures are way closer to the stage than expected - pretty sure our new giraffe friend has the best view in the venue - and wandering past a group of peccaries shaking off a nap we spy Julia Jacklin chilling in the crowd with her cream-coloured Telecaster slung over her shoulder. Jen Cloher originally had her spot on the bill, the Zoo only revealing earlier today that the Milk! Records co-founder had to pull out. It is unfortunate we won’t get to see some hometown rock royalty, but it’s also hard to be too sour when Jacklin’s filling in.

The Sydney-based singer takes the stage solo and Pool Party opens the night, Jacklin’s breakout single sounding sadder and more pensive without a backing band. She follows with a mix of tracks from her debut album and its upcoming follow-up, Crushing. Unreleased tune Don’t Know How To Keep Loving You (definitely a theme emerging there) is a haunting highlight, Jacklin’s delivery minimal but mesmerising. Her songs are simple, straightforward and powerful, like hearing a door slam for the last time.

Whatever we might have expected from Cat Power tonight, Chan Marshall arriving on stage, on time, bearing a cheery grin and a cup of tea wasn’t at the top of the list. Even at her Vivid LIVE show last year, people spoke about the late start and evasive stage presence. Marshall’s onstage anxieties have been well documented, and reviews of live shows often read like reports of watching something sublime dangling over a cliff-face. Mostly glowing, but very tense in all. Tonight she just looks comfortable, and happy.

She opens on He Turns Down without a preamble, the original’s flute replaced by wobbly, warbly keys from guitarist/keyboardist Erik Paparazzi. It's clear early that tonight will be a mish-mash of deep cuts, recent material and numerous covers - often all rolled into one. Nick Cave’s Into My Arms causes gasps of pleasant surprise to ripple out as people place the lyrics, then quickly morphs into Dark End Of The Street, a soulful, drum brush-driven section of I Don’t Blame You and a dramatically sparse piece of I Am Stretched On Your Grave.

We get two more nods to Marshall's Australian connections through the night - a beautiful rendition of her Dirty Three song Great Waves and a set highlight cover of Rowland S Howard's Shivers. The latter even features a little INXS ("I'd make wine from your tears!").

There aren’t any coughing fits or nervous apologies and Marshall’s voice is at its husky, textured best, blending with Horizon's jubilant keys to create something uplifting and joyous. Her three-piece touring band are immaculate – a sudden stop-start in the song is so sharp more than a few people are convinced the sound has cut out. Drummer Alianna Kalaba is a revelation. The sudden thunder of soft mallets on toms echoes over tinkling bells in Robin Hood, building wonderful tension. The first line of Me Voy draws cheers from the audience, electronic keys making it feel anxious and close as Marshall cautiously roams the stage with a mic in each hand repeating “I wish you could stay tomorrow/Wish you would stay."

For the most part older tracks are nearly unrecognisable from their recorded versions, although Marshall's unmistakeable lyricism and hypnotic looping guitar lines - performed tonight by Adeline Jason - still form the pulse of tracks like Cross Bones Style, Metal Heart and Good Woman. 

Two-thirds of the way through the show a chugging verse of Nude As The News forms the intro of Manhattan. People head up front for a closer look and one especially energetic girl turns the growing crowd into a dance party. Marshall looks genuinely stoked, howling emphatic “Whoo, whoo, whoooo”s through the song. Whatever people expect from Cat Power, what they get is an incredibly open, richly emotional performance.