Puss N Boots at the Bowery Electric

Puss N Boots consists of Norah Jones on lead guitar and vocals, Sasha Dobson on rhythm guitar and vocals and Catherine Popper on bass and vocals. Jones has won nine Grammy Awards and has sold over 50 million albums worldwide, making her the biggest-selling female artist of the 2000s. Dobson has recorded solo and has performed regularly at local folk clubs like the Living Room. Popper has played with Ryan Adams and Grace Potter. Together as Puss N Boots, the trio performs occasionally in area music clubs and is in the studio now recording its first album.

Puss N Boots performed tonight at the Bowery Electric as part of the second annual CBGB’s Festival, which the band members jokingly called “Punkstock.” The joke was that Puss N Boots’ performance was about as far as the musicians could get from CBGB’s signature punk rock. The trio performed vintage-sounding country ballads as softly and tenderly as possible. The set featured original songs but also showcased many little-known songs by Doc Watson and other old-time folk and country composers. Much of the audience may have come to hear Jones, but she seemed content with being just one of the ladies. Each member had the opportunity to sing lead, and individually each singer approached her songs with muscle, but the outstanding gem was when they sang in three-part feather-light harmony. Puss N Boots is a promising act which will attract large audiences as soon as the cat is out of the bag.