Cat Empire - Copley Square - Boston, MA - July 26, 2007
Posted by Jesse Coy on 08.15.2007
The cats from down under rock a free performance in bean town.
If only I’d known there was an opening band, I wouldn’t have rushed like I did. I was trying to burn a new driving mix CD for Shirleen for the ride to the valley, actually, and the first burn wouldn’t take. Goddamn it (as the flooded villagers said)… if I missed the 2:42 train, the next one was a couple hours away, and I’d miss the five o’clock show time. Well, not really, but I didn’t know that at the time. Asked mom if she could whip together a sandwich for me, and then even drive me down to the train station (eight blocks away or so), because I had no time. Didn’t even have a time to mix myself a drink. As for everything that had to go with me, it was piled against the wall. Just tell Shirleen to pack it into the car. Got there at 2:42 on the dot. The train left at 2:46, actually, so I was safe.
I think I wrote my journal on the train ride down to Boston. From there, I figured I’d get to Copley Square first, and then grab a drink somewhere. I had to look up where Copley Square was. It’s right there on Boyleston Street, maybe four or five blocks from the Boston Commons (easy to reach). It’s a free concert series there, and Cat Empire would be playing. That’s free show number three this summer (free to the entire public, I mean).
So I got to Copley Square and asked someone at a booth set up next to the stage, what time is the band starting?
“About 5:30.”
Cat Empire?
“No… an opener, [so and so], [or something like that].”
Oh.
Instead of paying for a beer around there, there was a wine and booze store across the street. So I bought a four-pack of those mini-wines with twist-off tops. No, we’re not talking about quality. It’s more ease of use on this one. Got a copy of the free Boston city paper and walked six or so blocks up to the river, where I sat on a park bench, read through the paper, and discreetly drank my wine. Ah… life is good.
Walked back to Copley Square, where I had time to grab a burger at a fast food joint. Called Shirleen. Ten minutes later, Cat Empire would be playing. So as far as I know, the band has one full-length album, which I have, and have reviewed this year, in addition to a debut EP, a couple of those songs carrying over onto that full-time release. The band started with an instrumental, and then played “Secret of the Sun,” which I didn’t recognize. Okay, I just figured out the confusion with the Two Shoes album… it was originally released in 2005, but a 2007 version was released that switched a few tracks around (taking some out and adding others).
Well, I’ll hit the song list first. They moved on to four tracks off Two Shoes, doing “Sol Y Sombre,” “Sly,” “Two Shoes,” and a very extended version of “Car Song” (a personal favorite of mine), the extension being a middle jam sequence. So Felix does lead vocals for the middle two, and Harry does lead vocals for the end two, Felix providing additional percussion work, and Harry the band’s trumpeter. They did “Hello,” which I see is from their debut, and then “Fish to My Hook” (I’m not familiar with that one), “La La La” (I don’t know if that was its real name), and the song where Harry did a perfect vocal rendering of the didgeridoo, which I’ll call the “Didgeridoo Song.” Actually, when he wasn’t singing lead vocals, or playing the trumpet, he’d periodically do vocal sounds that sounded like another instrument.
Both front men had great stage presence. Felix pointed out that even though the setting sun was in their eyes, they loved to play at that time of day. And the band had an awesome backdrop, with Boston’s Trinity Church directly behind them. They left the stage, but of course returned for a two-song encore, which included the song that I was there to hear, “The Chariot.” I had to call Shirleen, holding the phone up but not saying anything when the intense part kicked in. They ended the encore with “So Many Nights,” a new track. A number of the tunes had me happily dancing, as were some of the gals around me. I don’t think I have any other show notes.
A homeless dude with a salvaged plate of rice bumped me in the head with the rice plate before I went to get the wine. That’s something you don’t hear every day. When the show was over, I bought a couple of those caffeine beers for the ride southward toward the valley. Thank you, Boston, for that free outdoor show. Shirleen picked me up on the corner right before the onramp to the interstate that goes south. That area before Chinatown in Boston is a mess of a tangle of streets.
The 411: Boston is treated to a great live show, outdoors and free, from a band that has many great tunes still to come, I'd wager.
