Gig Review: Courtney Barnett, San Fran, Wellington, 9 July 2021

Okay, so this review is a bit late to the party. Courtney Barnett’s short New Zealand jaunt is almost over. Which means any sort of comment I make on it is already largely redundant. But I feel compelled to post a few words about her opening night in Wellington a few Fridays back, just for posterity’s sake. Just because I was there. A sure sign that gigs are few and far between for me at present. 

The Friday night at San Fran was the first night of a three-night sold out run at the venue for the popular Aussie indie troubadour.

Support was provided by Emily Edrosa, and San Fran was already packed to overflowing when I arrived to catch the last 15 minutes of Edrosa’s well-received set. In all honesty, I wasn’t overly impressed with what I heard, but that may have been more to do with the fact that I was heavily distracted, and frustrated, by not being able to find a comfortable standing spot amid the throng of activity around me. I eventually settled for a spot at the rear of the venue, while my more resilient gig-companion opted for somewhere much closer to the stage. 

Barnett arrived on stage at 9.30pm and for the next 70 minutes she offered us an absorbing mix of decade-old songs and brand spanking new ones, an Arthur Russell cover, and a Kurt Vile duet that wasn’t really a duet at all. 

After opening with long-time favourite ‘Avant Gardner’, the solo Barnett then gave us ‘Walkin’ on Eggshells’ and ‘Dead Fox’ before being joined on stage by current co-conspirator Stella Mozgawa (of Warpaint) for new single ‘Rae Street’, which was followed by another new track, and the aforementioned Russell cover, ‘I Never Get Lonesome’. Mozgawa then exited proceedings temporarily. 

There was a lot of audience banter and interaction throughout, with the in-joke being that a lot of enthusiastic fans knew all of the lyrics and Barnett was quite happy to let the crowd sing along unaccompanied at various points. Never more so than on gig centrepiece ‘Depreston’, a highly relatable tune about the minutiae of suburban living, and easily the highlight of the night for yours truly. That song really has morphed into something of a signature tune for Barnett. 

Barnett sang both parts in the Kurt Vile “duet” ‘Let It Go’, which was slightly odd - if understandable, given Vile’s absence. That was followed by ‘Sunday Roast’ before Mozgawa returned to the stage for another brief run of songs from the pair’s upcoming collaborative album, Things Take Time, Take Time. 

All of the new tunes had a pronounced country/folkie flavour, and all were enjoyable enough. The sort that will doubtlessly grow in familiarity over time, with the album, as I understand it, not due for a full release until November. 

We finished up with ‘History Eraser’ and a one-song encore, ‘Nameless Faceless’, but not before Barnett had described the gig as “the best night of my life” in her finest deadpan voice.

I had my doubts about the authenticity of that statement, but much younger, less cynical attendees lapped it up and seemed convinced. As I set off to brave the chilly Wellington elements, post-gig, I tried to recall the last occasion (pre-lockdown) I’d seen an “international” artist live on stage at San Fran, but it was a forlorn task, and I was mostly just happy to have enjoyed a rare night out.