FRIDAY, SEPT. 21:

I remember my first experience with Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power) very well. When I was a senior in high school (and my musical tastes lay somewhere between New Found Glory and Rilo Kiley), I was invited to a Cat Power show at the Troubadour. All that my older/wiser male chaperones could tell me about her was that she was their dream girl: troubled, sultry and talented. What they didn’t tell me, however, is that Marshall was so depressed/drunk/twacked that she was known for rarely getting around to finishing a show. So imagine my pop punk surprise, Marshall stumbles out on stage (straggly hair covering her supposedly beautiful face), sits at her keyboard, demands a pint glass full of Jack Daniels, downs said pint, plays one and a half incoherent songs, then gets up and walks offstage and out of sight. The sold-out crowd stood around for about 10 minutes before realizing she wasn’t coming back and left—satisfied that they had attended a proper Cat Power show. The $20 I spent was not amused. This time around, however, things are supposed to be different. She doesn’t hate herself anymore and is only addicted to red wine and cigarettes—it’s like we’re twins! So hopefully she’ll put her hair in a ponytail, get behind that same keyboard and play me a little something I like to call “a 30 minute set.” (SB)

WITH THE DIRTY DELTA BLUES AND ADDIQUIT AT THE AVALON, 1735 N. VINE, HOLLYWOOD. 8 PM / $27.50 / ALL AGES. WWW.GOLDENVOICE.COM.