Courtney Barnett

Having post Valentines day blues, I chose instead to express my love by gathering all my friends that would follow me on a trip to my mecca, Rough Trade, to see Courtney Barnett and the Courtney Barnetts. Despite claims from some that "lunchtime gigs are weird," I think if you love music you love it any time of the day, and clearly I'm in good company as the place is packed! So much so they had to lock the doors!
Not really sure what to expect from Courtney live, I was happily surprised to find she rocks. And despite 2.5 years in London, transforming me from my pastels of the first visit, to Londonite greys and blacks, I still like to express myself with more than the hipster head nod, and its hard not to, getting caught up in their shared smiles which each other, as they are clearly enjoying the gig and the turn out. With beautifully crafted stories of mundanely simple everyday life, it's difficult not to smile as well. "Are you eating? You sound so thin" and "I got drunk and fell asleep atop the sheets but luckily i left the heater on." The highlight for me was her new song, "Depreston". Inspired by a town in Melbourne called Preston, which she says "really isn't that bad... it has a dumping ground... and a post office." The lyrics are even better and despite the sweet melody most of the crowd is cracking a smile.
I love her lyrics so much, I'm inspired to buy my first record in years. I stay around to get her to sign it, on the inside where there is a picture of a washing line and its says, "Nobody knew whose socks they were, but they had been hanging there for weeks." Watching everyone get cheesy photos with her, I suggest instead we should get them to join us in the Rough Trade photo booth. And my friend is brave enough to ask. Score!

First of all, at 63, I thought I was going to be the oldest, whitest guy there, but I was very happy to discover that I wasn't. Such is the unifying force of music, especially the great music that Courtney Barnett creates.

This was my first show at Anthem and I was very impressed by the venue. Lots of bars, lots of choices for food and drink. Seemed like plenty of restrooms too.

Now, to the music itself. This is the first time I have seen Courtney Barnett live (not even on videos) and she is almost a different persona. On stage, her alt-rock power pop music becomes almost metal, with booming guitars and a strutting Courtney clearly enjoying being on stage and playing her music. I really enjoyed it even if it was very different from what I was expecting. The playlist seemed pretty balanced with tracks from all of her releases. I didn't time it, but I would guess her part of the show was about 90 minutes.

One thing I didn't like was the lighting. During one song, the entire band was lit from behind by a horizontally arrayed row of bright red lights. Makes it very difficult to make people out. If I were to score it, I would give the music a 8/10 and the lighting a 5/10.

I had an absolutely amazing time at the Courtney Barnett concert. I came only knowing her music but I also ended up really liking the other artists on the Milk Records Tour. I loved how Courtney sang with all the other musicians and often the focus was more on the group and the music than directly on her. I stood on the far left and Courtney was in front of me the whole time. I had a great view and an even better time dancing with the people around me. During some of the more popular songs the whole crowd was singing and it was so fun. At the end my friend and I hung around and a very nice person gave me Courtney's set list that was left on stage. We stood in a 5 minute line and I was able to have Courtney sign the list. Its hanging on my wall right now as a great reminder of a wonderful night!

Courtney Barnett was amazing to see live. Live music is not watching your favorite produced music live. She brought more feeling and expression to her live performance than you could deduce from her fabulous album. She had great rapport with the audience and was very personable.
I love and hate to make the following observation, but I am happy to know that I share this we a real music critic. Courtney was genuine. Her expressions, posture, movements were not put on. Her lyrics and musical expression are her own. I hope this comes as the compliment it is intended to be: Courtney Barnett reminded me of everything I loved about Kurt Cobain. Please don't burn out so early.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/aap/article-3003499/Barnett-draws-Kurt-Cobain-comparison.html

I first saw Courtney Barnett two years ago at Glastonbury, described as 'who not to miss' by the Guardian that year. And they were right, after hearing her recorded material, her live set transformed the music into something different, something real and her guitar playing ability live just blew me away.

Since then I have seen her at other gigs and her live set has evolved into something special each time. Her and her band fit together perfectly, they play as one and bounce off each other; whilst playing a professional set.

The song that blows me away at her live gigs is Kim's Caravan; with guitar riffs at the end that take you away into another world.

Thanks for being around and reigniting my love of indie music.

Third time I've seen Courtney and it keeps getting better. Saw her three weeks before in Williamsburg which so far exceeded my expectations that I thought MassMoca would be anti-climatic. I was so very wrong. The Williamsburg show was one of the top 10 shows I have seen, and the MassMoca show was just as good. What is a constant is that her voice is something I want to hear always, but its the guitar playing that mesmerizes me. And she seems to have fully embraced being a guitar god - and we should be happy she has. This show was simply what Rock n' Roll is, should be , and still can be. I write this before seeing her again in Louisville. So very excited.

After hearing Barnett's song "Avant Gardener", it hooked me onto her unique riffs. When I got the songkick notification she would be playing the infamous First Avenue, I was stoked and bought tickets straight away. I had heard recordings of Courtney's live performances and the impressions they left weren't that great so I was nervous. I was in awe the whole show however, the way she gets into her performance is incredible. Great sound, true to the studio recordings. So entertaining, between the guitar solos, the background animations and just her presence in general. Amazing vibes the entire set.

Courtney Barnett is amazeballs! Not only is she an amazing lyricist, but she is a great guitar player. She had no back up musicians or drum machine--just her guitar. The concert venue was very intimate in Jackson, Wy. Courtney talked to us and took questions.

Unfortunately, she likely missed her next concert due to snow in the Jackson Hole area.

It's the second time my daughter, son and I have seen her in concert this year. We'll go to her concert anytime she's near

Clever entertaining lyrics drive her albums, but her live show illuminates them! The power of the straight forward music delivery brings her music to a higher level ripping through live performance and the Roxy was a perfect venue to showcase this.

Barnett is a pleasure to watch perform with a seemingly reserved delivery of her lyrical wit punctuated by intermittent torrents of driving guitar power.

It was awesome! I knew she was smart and funny but she's also a guitar goddess. Honestly it reminded me of how much loved Rock in the 90's and it made me want to go to the beach and watch surfers.... I fully recommend to check them out if they ever show up in your town For more check my full review:
http://icannotsitstill.zz.vc/2015/04/letter-4-courtney/