Like many others at the Metropolis that night, I first heard “Pedestrian at Best” and instantly fell in love with Courtney and her qwirkrock sound. Just the word play was enough to get me to examine the full album, which was in heavy rotation in my house.
It’s been a great year for Courtney, performing at Coachella, Saturday Night Live and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The only problem with such success is that Pedestrian at Best is kind of ruined with the songs in heavy rotation at stations such as CHOM.
The evening started with TSP (aka The Sandwich Police) fronted by Evan Dando (Lemonheads) along with Marciana Jones and Willy Mason. Although I only caught the tail end of their set, they did a good job warming up the crowd and simply seemed like they had fun, as Marciana told us at the end of the evening caring for the merch booth.
I convinced a friend to join my daughter and I for this show. To be honest, he skipped her performance on SNL, but really wanted a night out. As we are waiting for Courtney, Bob Dylan’s “It Ain’t Me Babe” can be heard. My friend mentions how she is probably into Nirvana, and minutes later, the volume is turned to 11 as “Smells Like Teen Spirit” is pushed through the PA. This prophetic song was followed by “The Passenger” (Siouxsie version).
The lights finally dim, the excitement builds as the band take their places and start us off with “Dead Fox” which speaks of Courtney’s preference for the local organic shops versus the big chains.
Although most of the songs would come from the wildly popular “Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit” album, we did get some songs from her previous albums such as “Scotty Says” from the The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas.
It didn’t take long for my reluctant friend to drink the Kool-Aid and fixate on Courtney and her charm. Although she seems like an introvert, I felt bad for Bones Sloane (Bass) and Dave Mudie (Drums) as all eyes were fixated on Courtney for the vast majority of the evening. There is a certain charm and presence that you can’t help but fall in love with as Courtney sings about Kangaroos, Sim City, percolators and Christopher Walken. If you feel inclined, pay the “Is This a Courtney Barnett Lyric or Just Something I Did Today?” Quiz
The large video screen behind the band really enhanced the experience and mesmerized us with trucks, foxes, eyeballs and psychedelic artwork.
Excerpts from the show:
“Lance Jr” had a Nirvana “About a Girl” feeling for sure. No wonder the intro choice.
The evening ended with a 3 song encore compromising of a Lemonheads cover, “Pickles From The Jar” and a great finishing song: “Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party”.
When I think of the lyrics: “I wanna go out but I wanna stay home” from the last song, I can’t help but think of all those that missed this amazing show. If I didn’t go and see Prince during his Place des Arts show, I would have NEVER seen him! Quite a sobering thought. All this to say that attending live concerts is important. Bands today don’t make money selling songs (unless they own the rights to them), but they do make their living touring and with merchandising. If you like an artist, what better way to encourage them then seeing them perform and wearing their t-shirt. I loved the fact that Courtney had a limited amount of signed posters at the merch booth.
Tonight, Courtney proved that when she is on a pedestal, she will entertain you!
Setlist:
Dead Fox
Scotty Says
Deb
An Illustration of Loneliness (sleepless in New York)
Out of the Woodwork
Small Poppies
Despreston
Three Packs a Day
Pedestrian at Best
Are You Looking After Yourself?
Lance Jr
Elevator Operator
Kim’s Caravan
Avant Gardener
Encore
Paid To Smile (Lemonheads Cover)
Pickles From The Jar
Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party
Randal Wark is a Professional Speaker and Business coach with a passion for live music. You can follow him on Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.
Photos – Kieron Yates
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