UPDATE (4pm 01/11/12): Tone Deaf contacted Aunty Meredith and Golden Plains organisers about Cat Power’s touring plans and they’ve issued a statement saying: “Cat Power’s March Australian tour and Golden Plains performance will go ahead as planned, there’s absolutely no reason for concern.”
Marshall’s health problems involve a skin condiiton called angioedema, which can cause severe swelling around the throat and face, and although it hasn’t affected her current North American tour, it’s been enough to cause financial stress and affect her touring commitments.
NME reports that Cat Power aka Chan Marshall was scheduled for a European run of shows as well as her first UK gig in four years, but yesterday posted a photo to her Instagram account, along with the message:
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.
At this stage, it’s unclear if that strategy involves taking more time off to deal with her condition, and the details of Marshall’s financial situation are unclear, but it does raise concerns about her appearance and attendance for next year’s Golden Plains festival – despite being nearly six months away.
Marshall’s message notes that she got sick after Cat Power’s ninth studio album, Sun, came out last September. She was later admitted to hospital for her condition and took to her Facebook account soon after to thank her fans (in her usual all caps style):
“BACK HOME FROM HOSPITAL. I WANNA THANK EVERYONE FOR THEIR SUPPORT AND GIFTS OF LOVE AND HEALING SENT MY WAY. IT MEANS SO MUCH TO ME AND I PROMISE I AM DOING EVERYTHING I CAN EVERY DAY TO GET HEALTHY.”
Hopefully Marshall can find the health and happiness she continues to seek, and not just purely for the benefit of Golden Plains ticket holders.
Sun is Cat Power’s first album of original material in six years, an album our Tone Deaf reviewer credited it as being “without a doubt the most assured and invigorated Cat Power has sounded yet… that feels completely different from anything in her catalogue that has preceded it.”
