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Cat Power’s Illness, Money Woes Threaten European Tour

Cat Power

A few days after Hurricane Sandy forced Cat Power to postpone a show in Philadelphia, even more powerful phenomena are putting her scheduled European tour in doubt. Chan Marshall might cancel her European tour for financial and medical reasons, she said in an an Instragram post last night (via Pitchfork). Here’s her full note: 

I MAY HAVE TO CANCEL MY EUROPEAN TOUR DUE TO BANKRUPTCY & MY HEALTH STRUGGLE WITH ANGIOEDEMA. I HAVE NOT THROWN IN ANY TOWEL, I AM TRYING TO FIGURE OUT WHAT BEST I CAN DO. HEART BROKEN. WORKED SO HARD. GOT SICK DAY AFTER “SUN” CAME OUT & BEEN STRUGGLING TO KEEP ALL POINTS OF ME IN EQUILIBRIUM : MIND, SPIRIT, BODY HEALTHY CENTERED & GROUNDED. I AM DOING THE BEST I CAN. I FUCKING LOVE THIS PLANET. I REFUSE TO GIVE UP. THOUGH I MAY NEED TO RESTRATAGIZE FOR MY SECURITY & HEALTH.

Angioedema is sudden, severe swelling, and can be life-threatening if the swelling blocks air from getting to the lungs. Marshall, 40, said last month in another Instagram post! that her angioedema is in her throat and suggested she was all better after “Mexican treatment.” Her label, Matador Records, confirmed to Yahoo! News last month that she had been hospitalized in Miami for undisclosed health reasons. 

More recently, Marshall posted a photo of what appeared to be the inside of a Toronto ambulance prior to an October 20 show there described by the National Post as “haggard” and “erratic.” By Cat Power’s October 23 show at New York City’s Hammerstein Ballroom, though, she appeared to be doing better. The New York Times reported that after a shaky start, the show was “good, occasionally very good.”

Cat Power’s latest album, the Essential-stamped Sun, came out on September 4, and while it takes on more of a dance-friendly pop sheen, our reviewer Jessica Hopper aptly finds in it a record where the personal is political, and freedom is absolute. Sun scored Marshall her first appearance in the Top 10 of Billboard’s albums chart.

Medical problems are one thing, but Marshall’s troubles with nerves and substance abuse are well-documented. She canceled a 2006 tour and checked herself into a hospital for what she told SPIN then was “a reaction to drinking.” And in Steve Kandell’s not-to-be-missed SPIN profile, Marshall appeared raw and shaken from her breakup with Giovanni Ribisi. Elsewhere in the same profile, Marshall says, “The struggle makes you better.”

As grateful as we are for Cat Power’s music, we’d rather she be healthy and happy than struggling, and we’re not sure there’s necessarily a contradiction between leading a satisfied life and making great art. But most of all, here’s hoping Marshall gets better soon so she can get on doing what she loves.

Cat Power tour dates:
November 2 – Vancouver, BC @ Vogue Theatre
November 3 – Seattle, WA @ Showbox SoDo
November 4 – Portland, OR @ Crystal Ballroom
November 6 – Oakland, CA @ Fox Theater
November 8 – Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Palladium
November 26 Amsterdam, Netherlands @ Paradiso
November 28 – Cologne, Germany @ E-Werk
November 29 – Berlin, Germany @ Huxleys
December 1 – Hamburg, Germany @ Grosse Freiheit 36
December 2 – Munich, Germany @ Theaterfabrik
December 3 – Milan, Italy @ Alcatraz
December 4 – Bologna, Italy @ Estragon
December 6 – Zurich, Switzerland @ Volkshaus
December 7 – Madrid, Spain @ Matadero
December 8 – Barcelona, Spain @ Sant Jordi Club
December 10 – Paris, France @ Le Trianon
December 12 – London, England @ Roundhouse
December 14 – Brussels, Belgium @ AB Club
January 30 – Philadelphia, PA @ Electric Factory