Went to the Roundhouse in Camden last night to see Cat Power, backed by the Memphis Horns. Cat herself is as ramshackle and loose as the Horns are tight and focussed. She often ended songs abruptly, stopping her guitar and leaving the backing singers hollering alone. She seems to suffer from a distinct lack of confidence, more than once apoligising for her 'flat' vocals.

The show was divided into two parts, the first with the whole band, the second performed solo. The Memphis Horns tights funk and Cat's bluesy shuffle wouldn't seem to be natural partners, but that they go together so well is a revelation. After an initial instrumental workout, they settled into a warm groove as Cat played through most of "The Greatest" album.

In the second part Cat shifted between piano and guitar, a lone spotlight from above picking her out in the cavernous darkness of the Roundhouse. Her voice, so deep and smoky, sounded beautfiul and full of detail, and the sound throughout the show was crystal clear, if a little trebly to begin with.

So how does the refurbed Roundhouse fare? There's no doubting it's an impressive venue - huge, with a high ceiling. The lighting used in this show was basic but atmospheric, and by the look of the size of the rig it could handle anything you wanted from it, including the psychedelic oil lights Pink Floyed used to have here in the Sixties. Seating all the way round at 1st floor level offers a great view, although the level floor at ground level presents the usual problem of getting a clear eyeline to the stage, which is remarkably low for a venue of this size. By the looks of it the stage can be placed anywhere on the floor space, so it's quite flexible.

The bars, of which there are several, were serving quickly, although as far as I could tell they only had Kronenberg on tap. The main problem is that with the venue configuration being "in the round" the only route from the crowd to the bars was to radiate through from middle. Unlike other traditional, front-facing venues, where channels down either side are utilised to get to the bars and toilets, this caused quite a bit of disruption for the whole first half of the show.

Cat generated huge amounts of affection from the crowd, but I would say she is enigmatic rather than charismatic. She had to be gently guided from the stage by one of her backing singers at the end, only to pop back up on the other side, waving and pulling funny faces as she had done for the last hour and three quarters.