Cat’s Powerful Night of Dylan – Cat Power at Troy Music Hall – Recap By: Art Fredette

It is no secret that I am a Bob Dylan fan, hell, I named my middle kid after him. So when the opportunity
to see Cat power perform a night of Bob Dylan songs at The Troy Music Hall presented itself I jumped.
As the sold- out crowd shuffled in the first thing I was struck by was the diversity of age. Everyone was
there. From Gen Z – Boomers and everybody in between the room buzzed with a happy excitement.

I found by seat and was lucky enough to catch my friend Paul in the crowd and move him to the space
next to me. I have been to more shows with this guy than anyone else. I jokingly turned to him and said
I was excited for the show but covering Dylan was a lay-up. I mean you know the writing is going to be
good, so half that battle is won. Paul nodded quietly and said maybe but it could be a minefield, after all
the expectations are very high. TOUCHE’ my friend, TOUCHE’, and Cat Power danced through that
minefield with the deftness of a prima ballerina. The night was mesmerizing.

The setlist was the exact setlist from the legendary Dylan show in 1966, done in the same order.
Opening with “She Belongs To Me’, my favorite Dylan song, you could see this was not going to be
another ape-ish Dylan cover fest. There was a slow smoldering burn from the first notes that only grew
in intensity throughout the acoustic portion of the show. Imagine a jazz infused torch song delivery to
some of the greatest songs ever penned. Slow burn, turn up the heat, add some fuel, turn up the heat,
raise the temp some more and now throw in electricity. BOOM! Blast furnace.

The accompaniment was completely in sync with everything vocally delivered. One of my favorite
moments was the rollicking rendition on “Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat”. The band, while tight, played with
a loose easy feel that captured all the excitement of the original 1966 performance. Ending with a
stunning version of “Like a Rolling Stone” delivered vocally without the nasal inflections of the original
but no less biting or powerful.

All in all, this Dylan junkie left the show overjoyed. Thank you to the Troy Savings Bank Music Hall for this great
booking and thank you Cat Power for your fresh and personal approach. What a great way to spend a
Friday night.