Courtney Barnett live review: A rare evening of intimate ramblings
Just a couple of days ago, Courtney Barnett took her tales of avant gardening and life-changing percolators to Old Trafford stadium, the 50,000-capacity home of Manchester United. She was sharing the bill with Foo Fighters, preempting their Everlong set with a healthy dose of her distinctive Aussie wit, but tonight, she graces a much smaller stage in the city’s northern quarter. The 500-cap gig room of the beloved Band on the Wall is packed in as tightly as possible for one of four intimate UK shows she’s managed to slot in between support dates, and everyone feels lucky to be there.
Chloe Slater is no exception. After finding success online with her TikTok-friendly indie rock tracks about landlordism and “ripening or rotting,” the Manchester-based artist landed a support slot with Barnett in her hometown. She bubbles over with both nerves and excitement on stage, acknowledging that just a month ago, she was playing in the bar next door. A reminder to register to vote garners a “Fuck the Tories,” from a crowd member, as the room gradually fills out around them.
A trip to the bar between Slater’s set and the main event makes me feel even luckier to be there when I clock that the price of a cocktail barely surpasses the price of a pint. Passionfruit martini secured, we stroll out to the smoking area to deliberate what it is that makes Barnett such a singular songwriter, what makes her worthy of inking the words “Pedestrian At Best” into your skin forever. We, of course, land on her lyricism, which one of my friends suggests is comparable to Pavement’s Stephen Malkmus, “but if he made sense.”
Everything seems to make sense the second Barnett steps onto the stage. The lackadaisical strums and storytelling of ‘Rae Street’ ease us into the sounds of Sydney, but Barnett doesn’t hold back on the hits. She launches into signature track ‘Avant Gardener’, leading the entire room in repeated declarations of hyperventilation. “I’m not that good at breathing in,” she sings over and over, and the crowd are right there with her.
They remain there for her entire set time, somehow keeping up with every one of her rambled declarations and sprawled-out thoughts. It’s as if they’ve studied her lyrics, pored over them for meaning and understanding for the last decade, primed and ready to throw them back at her now they finally have the opportunity to. And Barnett revels in it.
Perhaps her on-stage elation comes from the comparative disinterest of stadium support slots. The crowds who came for ‘Everlong’ rather than for ‘Elevator Operator’ are long gone, and Barnett beams as she commands the attention of 500 Barnett devotees. She blushes as people regularly utilise quiet moments to shout out their appreciation for her, occasionally affording them an “I love you too.”
‘Pedestrian at Best’ is a particular highlight in her set, a song that upholds the LCD Soundsystem ethos of, “Shut up and play the hits.” Guitars growl through the speakers and the crowd is already moving, gearing up to jump the second Barnett asks them to put her on a pedestal. “Tell me I’m exceptional,” she sings, and we oblige, disregarding the words that follow. As each lyric spills into the next, no one misses a beat, but the performance demonstrates more than her lyrical ability.
As the crowd do everything they can to keep their feet off the floor during the chorus, ‘Pedestrian At Best’ shows off why Barnett is a worthy pairing with rockers Foo Fighters. Each snarling strum, each cathartic chorus cuts just as deep as her lyrics. I can barely see past the rows of rockers, but it doesn’t matter, you can feel it all nonetheless. Barnett’s ability to rock is just as well-honed as her tendency to ramble.
A gorgeous Chastity Belt cover and a slightly slower second half leaves us to reflect on Barnett’s talents in the impossibly intimate setting, as she sets the “screaming” to the side. An encore affords us a short but stunning finale in ‘Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party’, and Barnett leaves us to sit with her performance, with how fortunate we were to witness it.
As we all pour out of Band on the Wall, grabbing set time sheets as we go, those lucky smiles are unwavering. Even the mist of rain can’t shake the feeling that we could take on the world right now, or at least that maybe we should consider purchasing a lottery ticket. It’s difficult to imagine seeing Barnett in such a small UK venue again anytime soon, so we hold onto that singular experience all the way home, humming ‘Depreston’ as we go.
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