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Courtney Barnett Tour Poster
Setlist
Tour Dates
02/22/14 Brooklyn, NY Knitting Factory
02/23/14 Los Angeles, CA Bootleg Theater 02/24/14 Noise Pop Festival 05/03/14 Live At Leeds 05/31/14 Primavera Sound Spain 06/06/14 Optimus Primavera Sound Portugal 06/07/14 Field Day London Read More
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Melbourne’s Courtney Barnett is one of the hottest new artists of the last year and she commenced her first American tour in fine style Tuesday night at the sold out Empty Bottle in Chicago. The crowd greeted Courtney and her backing band, the charmingly named “Courtney Barnetts,” with enthusiasm; a man in the crowd shouted out “Aussie! Aussie! Aussie!” to which bassist Bones Sloane replied, “Oi! Oi! Oi!”
After setting up their own equipment (don’t you just love it when bands do that?), Courtney, Bones, and drummer Dave Mudie launched into a rousing rendition of “David” from Barnett’s second EP How To Carve a Carrot Into a Rose (which has been compiled with her first EP I’ve Got a Friend Called Emily Ferris into the album-sized The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas). Although other incarnations of the Courtney Barnetts contained a second guitarist, his presence wasn’t missed at all, as Barnett, Sloane, and Mudie filled up the sound skillfully. The only element that suffered slightly was Courtney’s voice, which sounded a bit strained, perhaps from the rigors of touring. A minor complaint, though, as she was still quite capable of belting out her songs, but it might explain why gentler songs like “Anonymous Club” and “Don’t Apply Compression Gently” were left off the setlist.
Although Courtney’s melodies, voice and guitar playing are excellent, she’s gained her fame mostly for her hilarious lyrics. It was fun to look out in the crowd and watch people singing along to lines such as, “Reminds me of the time when I was really sick and I had too much pseudoephedrine and I couldn’t sleep at night” or “I masturbated to the songs you wrote / Resuscitated all of my hopes / It felt wrong but it didn’t take too long”. Strangely enough, I think the most enthusiastic reception was for the line, “And in the taxi home, I’ll sing you a Triffids song” from “History Eraser” – which must surely prove there are a lot of closet Triffids fans in Chicago! Or, I suppose, it might just mean it’s the final line of the final verse of a fantastic song. You choose.
The enthusiasm of the crowd was matched by the ever-smiling band. Courtney told us that she was delighted that Chicago provided her with her first snowstorm the previous day. The highlights of the show were the ever-delightful “Avant Gardener” (the true story of an allergic reaction she suffered when gardening on a hot summer’s day), the gentle “Out of the Woodwork” (“Just because you’re older than me doesn’t mean you have to be so condescending”), the previously-quoted masturbation ode “Lance Jr.” (“It doesn’t mean I like you man / it just helps me get to sleep / and it’s cheaper than temazepam”) and the rocking “History Eraser”.
During the main set, in addition to eight familiar songs off A Sea of Split Peas, Barnett debuted a new song apparently entitled “Blah” (judging by the set list). It was another solid Barnett song. When the set ended with “History Eraser” I wondered what song would get played as the encore. I was hoping for “Don’t Apply Compression Gently” myself, but instead they returned to play another new song, “Depreston” which she informed us had just been recorded a few days earlier for release as a 7” single on Record Store Day in April. It’s a hypnotic song with some of Courtney’s best melodic guitar work and a propulsive, if downbeat, ending about a depressing town: “If you’ve got a spare half a million / You could knock it down and start rebuilding.”
Courtney herself remarked that it was kind of a downer of an ending to the show, and I think we were all a little surprised at the shortness of the set, given that four songs off A Sea of Split Peas didn’t get aired. However, that’s a very minor complaint, as Courtney Barnett and the Courtney Barnetts left us all smiling as we exited the building. I can’t wait for her to come back into town again.
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Aussie Courtney Barnett
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Courtney’s melodies, voice and guitar playing are excellent
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The enthusiasm of the crowd was matched by the ever-smiling band. Courtney told us that she was delighted that Chicago provided her with her first snowstorm the previous day. The highlights of the show were the ever-delightful “Avant Gardener” (the true story of an allergic reaction she suffered when gardening on a hot summer’s day), the gentle “Out of the Woodwork” (“Just because you’re older than me doesn’t mean you have to be so condescending”), the previously-quoted masturbation ode “Lance Jr.” (“It doesn’t mean I like you man / it just helps me get to sleep / and it’s cheaper than temazepam”) and the rocking “History Eraser”.
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Ever-smiling
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Courtney Barnett at The Empty Bottle, Chicago (02/18/14) |
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