Sydney welcomed Courtney Barnett to The Metro Theatre's stage last night (7 May); just like you'd say gidday to an old mate who'd returned from an overseas adventure.
Opening the night with 'Elevator Operator', she captured the hearts of everyone who'd worked a nine-to-five that day. With the lyrics: "breakfast on the run again / he's well aware he's dropping soy and linseed Vegemite crumbs everywhere" you don't really get much more Aussie than that.
In her signature, melodic, storytelling style she continued with 'Lance Jr' nonchalantly singing: "I masturbated to the songs you wrote / Resuscitating all of my hopes / It felt wrong but it didn't take too long / Much appreciated all your songs" without even a hint of sexualisation. But rather she sang it with a lovely note of satire and sarcasm.
Click here for photos from the show.
Her third song in, 'An Illustration Of Loneliness (Sleepless In NY)' ended with Courtney ripping into a guitar solo; this display showed she has more than quirky and relatable lyrics in her arsenal – she's a bloody-talented musician.
As she performed more songs from her album 'Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit', the crowd swayed and sang along. With the catchy choruses from songs 'Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party', 'Avant Gardener', and 'Dead Fox', how could you not? But most of all they empathised with her down-to-earth lyrics of daily-life ponderings and struggles that we all identify with.
Courtney Barnett @ The Metro Theatre - Image © Matt ViesisAnother hit that had the crowd excited and bopping their heads was 'Depreston', which she recently performed a low-key rendition of on 'The Ellen DeGeneres Show'.
She finished the night with the beautifully executed 'Kim’s Caravan'. A ballad-style song with a dystopian sound, Courtney wrote it as a “tale of our world painted black with oil and soot... The song was born when blessed with time to reflect, feeling the frustration and helplessness of the destruction of my environment and the litter of humans within it.”
She then vamped up the mood with energetic hit 'History Eraser' from her 2013 Double EP 'A Sea Of Split Peas'. She then performed a quirky and comical cover of Lemonhead’s 'Being Around', a song with lyrics perfectly suited to Courtney’s slightly off-beat, singing style.
Image © Matt ViesisAfter being called back for one more song she finally played 'Pickles From The Jar' (she couldn't not play it; I was hanging out all night for it!) she then finished the night with a fun-filled cover of 'I'll Make You Happy' by The Easybeats, leaving the audience on a high.
Courtney Barnett manages to capture the quintessential Aussie lifestyle with a sound that cleverly sifts out any bogan undertones.
Click here for photos from the show.
