Music

Cat Power ended her concert Thursday night at the Palladium Ballroom by thanking fans "for letting us play such an amazing show for you."

Surely she was joking. "Amazingly odd" is a better description for a show she performed almost entirely in the dark, a tactic that prompted half the audience to leave before it ended.

The 36-year-old singer (born Chan Marshal) has made some of rock's most intriguing albums in the past decade. Blessed with a dusky voice and a jazz singer's phrasing, she's a master at gliding in and out of the shadows between blues, folk and soul music.

But in concert, she refuses to leave those shadows. A typical Cat Power show includes several mumbled apologies for letting down her fans.

There was reason to think this one might be different. In 2006, she told The New York Times she was finally sober after years of battling alcoholism, and for a while after that, her shows got better.

But she was back to her old tricks Thursday, hiding behind the speakers, disappearing backstage for long stretches and performing most of the two-hour show without a single spotlight. Many fans got fed up and left, leaving a lots of space at the front of the stage. Not that it was any easier to see her from there.

Aside from the murky visuals, it wasn't a bad performance. Backed by the versatile five-man Dirty Delta Blues, Cat Power sang in a haunting voice as she mixed originals with somber versions of CCR's "Fortunate Son," Hank Williams' "Ramblin' Man," and the Hot Boys' late '90s rap classic, "I Feel."

If you squinted hard enough at her darkened outline, she seemed to be having fun at times. She pranced, danced and mimed during several tunes and handed out flowers to loyal fans who stuck around until the end.

It was a nice gesture, but next time instead of flowers, how about starting the show by handing out night-vision goggles?