[ATTENDED: November 3, 2017] Courtney Barnett & Kurt Vile
I have been a fan of Courtney Barnett’s since I first saw her on a Tiny Desk Concert about 3 years ago. Bob and Robin from All Songs Considered have raved about her and her live show. I was really bummed to have found out about her last Philly show a little too late.
So she has been high on my list of artists to see.
I really like a bunch of Kurt Vile songs, although I don’t listen to him all that much (but “Pretty Pimpin'” is amazing). When they got together for this album/tour, it kind of made sense. Although I found that I was a little disappointed that Courtney played more like Kurt than Kurt played like Courtney. The album is kind of slacker folkie and not indie rocking. Although the good spirit and fun that they clearly had quickly won me over.
I knew the backing band was the Sea Lice, with a somewhat revolving cast. I was hoping to get Janet Weiss from Sleater-Kinney on drums, but instead we had Stella Mozgawa of Warpaint, who was terrific, Rob Laakso (from Kurt’s Violators) on bass and Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin) on keyboards (with wonderful backing vocals).
As the WXPN reviewer describe the show:
Visually speaking, Barnett and Vile make an enjoyably well-matched pair onstage. Kurt’s got (even) longer, shaggier hair, while Courtney had on a spiffier flannel. Surprisingly, Vile was the more talkative of the two, not so much playing hometown host (it took him until halfway through the set to mention “feels good to play Philly…I’m from here”) as indulging his familiar habit of slinging quick little mumbles and yelps from behind his spiraling locks.
And that was very true. Courtney really didn’t say all that much. But Kurt was full of charm and humor and by the end of the show, he totally won me over. Not that it was hard for him to, but I was firmly in the Courtney camp when we arrived and I left nicely in the middle.
I was rather surprised that they opened with “Over Everything.” WXPN plays this song all the time (and I never get sick of it) so I just assumed it would be the encore. But it was a great opener and got everyone in the mood.
It sounded great (for all the bad things I’ve said about The Tower, the sound is wonderful). I fact the whole band sounded really tight (even with the slackery vibe). The reviewer also described the show in the way I did:
which is to say they stuck to a fairly consistent mode of laid-back, somewhat hazy, often folk-tinged and stoner-y jams. There was little evidence of Barnett’s occasional punkier inclinations.
They played the entire Lotta Sea Lice album, almost in order, (except Barnett’s take on Vile’s “Peeping Tomboy” which is a great song and was missed). The album includes a song by Jen Cloher (“Fear Is Like a Forest”) and songs by Kurt, Courtney and Kurt & Courtney.
Midway through the set they played Kurt’s song “On Tour” “a song about waking up next to your bandmate, smelling him, and thinking…’this is the life!’” I was obviously super excited when they played Courtney’s “Depreston” which Kurt admitted: “that’s my favorite song!”
Kurt switched back and forth between electric and acoustic guitars, but Courtney stayed with that one guitar the whole show. They jammed a few songs, stretching them out so Kurt could solo. I don’t think Courtney soloed at all.
I loved how evenly everything was split up. They each played three of their own songs. Kurt’s “On Tour” (from Smoke Ring for My Halo), “Life Like This” and “Pretty Pimpin” (from b’lieve i’m goin down). And Courtney’s “Avant Gardner” (from The Double EP), “Depreston” and “Dead Fox” (from Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit).
They had a ton of fun with “Blue Cheese” about which Kurt said: “I wrote this as a teenager in Lansdowne.” Kurt did lots of whoops on this one. Then they played “Dead Fox” the night’s most energy-filled moment.
And then they said it was their last song–we all gasped, it had been some 7o minutes! They played a cover of Belly’s “Untogether” and that was that.
They went off for a brief encore and then Courtney and Kurt came back on stage and traded verses on Gillian Welch’s “Elvis Presley Blues.”
I’m pretty sure Kurt told us just that seven though we were his home town crowd we weren’t getting extra songs (which was true). But he got a huge ovation when he played “Pretty Pimpin.” He sounded great, the crowd was totally responsive and he did some impressive lead work.
It was also Courtney’s birthday (this is the third show that we have been to with a birthday in the band: Guster and Alvvays also had birthday moments, but this was the biggest so far). Early in the night, some fans shouted happy birthday and Kurt tried “rather adorably to direct a distracted Barnett’s attention toward some fans’ birthday wishes, before turning back to the audience and shrugging: ‘I heard what they said…and it’s true…happy birthday Courtney!’”
But it was during the encore that the celebration was made huge. Jen Cloher and the rest of the band brought out giant gold balloons spelling out “30” and “CB.” We all sang “Happy Birthday” to her and she hid her face behind her guitar. She said she couldn’t imagine a better place to spend her birthday although I’m sure if pressed she could. (I like how since she is left-handed the whole picture looks backwards).
The band launched into the night’s final number Courtney’s “Avant Gardener” and with it came confetti canons! Who would have guessed. The song sounded terrific and I was really excited to hear it (it was the first Courtney song I’d heard). And then the show was over for good.
It was a succinct 90 minutes full of great music and a great atmosphere.
All of the griping about the venue was forgotten and we even managed to get home fairly quickly.
Setlist
Over Everything*
Let It Go*
Fear Is Like a Forest (Jen Cloher & The Endless Sea)*
Continental Breakfast*
Out of the Woodwork (Courtney Barnett)*
On Script*
On Tour (Kurt Vile)
Depreston (Courtney Barnett)
Life Like This (Kurt Vile)
Blue Cheese*
Dead Fox (Courtney Barnett)
Untogether (Belly)*
Encore:
Elvis Presley Blues (Gillian Welch)
Pretty Pimpin (Kurt Vile)
Avant Gardener (Courtney Barnett)
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