Courtney Barnett
28th August 2018
Powerstation, Auckland, New Zealand.
Review by Sarah Kidd. Photography by Chontalle Musson.
She has been touted as the next Bob Dylan of this generation, a big call to make but one that Courtney Barnett could easily wear it would seem. The Australian singer-songwriter who has been gracing stages all over the world throughout the year, finally arrived at Auckland’s PowerStation for the first of two shows last night.
In support the rather intriguing and indeed charming East Brunswick All Girls Choir, whose name certainly conjured up expectations of a group of high school girls in uniform about to belt out a rendition of ‘Memories’ from the musical Cats. Instead a four piece band delivered a set that was fraught with hypnotic choruses overlaid with fantastically distorted guitar solos courtesy of Rob Wrigley (who was also celebrating his birthday for only the second time on New Zealand shores – a point that prompted the audience to sing him a rendition of the appropriate celebratory jingle) or completely made up ones by lead vocalist Marcus Hobbs which according to him are the best ones “that’s how you do it, never plan anything!” The Melbourne quartet have recently released their second album entitled Teddywaddy, and judging by their live performance this is a band that should be embraced for all they have to offer.
A smattering of fairy lights twinkled against ruched curtains and oversized circular stage lights that hung from the ceiling; led strip lights on the front corners semaphoring coloured patterns against the tendrils of smoke that sashayed around the stage. It was a combination that shouldn’t have worked and yet perfectly encapsulated in visual form the many facets of Barnett’s music.
Appearing on stage in a simple white t-shirt and black jeans, Barnett was serenaded by the enthusiastic cheers of the audience, a smile tugging her mouth sideways as she looked down towards her guitar and kicked off her set with ‘Hopefulessness’ from her latest album Tell Me How You Really Feel. Earlier in the year Barnett had been surprising audiences by playing the album in its entirety from start to finish, however Auckland was last night treated to a heady mix of both old and new; all but two tracks from her latest LP making the cut. Accompanied by her three-piece band made up of Bones Sloane on bass, Dave Mundie on drums and the rather talented multi-instrumentalist Katie Harkin on both keys and guitar, Barnett took the fans on a journey tonight that grew in fierce intensity as the minutes ticked by. From the off-kilter delivery of ‘City Looks Pretty’ that gnaws at the edges to early crowd favourite ‘Avant Gardener’ with it’s carefree opening riffs, Barnett delivered a set that was multi-faceted; Barnett herself taking centre stage and revealing all both vocally and physically.
Indeed some of the highest points of the show are when Barnett lets go and a form of almost controlled chaos runs through her system; head down, back arched, guitar swung low to the ground she evokes images of early grunge performers such as Cobain himself. It cannot be denied that there is a layer of 90’s grunge inspiration to many of her tracks, the distortion of her vocals on ‘Small Poppies’ glorious in both a sentimental and yet relative way. Pausing periodically throughout the night to say hello, or ask how everyone was doing, Barnett and co kept the banter to a minimum allowing instead the impressive twenty track set list to convey all that needed to be said.
The opposing elements of the ferocity of ‘I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch’ against the tenderness of Barnett’s vocals during her cover of the Gilliam Welch track ‘Everything Is Free’ which she performed solo with nothing more than a soft spotlight to accompany her is what makes Barnett so admired as a live performer. But it’s her lyricism that has seen her awarded both Apra and Aria music awards (not to mention a Grammy nomination); Barnett having the uncanny ability to take the mundane and draw from it observations that speak to the masses. Tracks such as ‘Depreston’ illustrating exactly why she is regarded in the same frame as Dylan himself. Finishing her set with the scathing ‘Pedestrian At Best’ it was as if witnessing the implosion of a star in the darkened night sky…
Triumphant.
Were you there at Powerstation for this beautiful indie rock gig? Or have you seen Courtney Barnett live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!
Setlist:
- Hopefulessness
- City Looks Pretty
- Avant Gardner
- Need A Little Time
- Small Poppies
- Crippling Self-Doubt And A General Lack Of Self Confidence
- Lance Jr.
- Nameless, Faceless
- I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch
- An Illustration Of Loneliness (Sleepless In New York)
- Sunday Roast
- Depreston
- Houses [Elyse Weinberg cover]
- Elevator Operator
- Kim’s Caravan
- Charity
- History
- Everything Is Free [Gillian Welch cover] [encore]
- Anonymous Club [encore]
- Pedestrian At Best [encore]
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