Live Report: Courtney Barnett – Somerset House Summer Series, London

Australian singer delivers a standout performance...

Tonight, Courtney Barnett is presented with the looming challenge of bringing her clattering, lo-fi grunge to Somerset House’s expansive 18th century courtyard. Headlining the third night of the eclectic Summer Series, the Melbourne artist follows Tuesday night’s James Morrison, an artist that no doubt dreams of settings like this for his acoustic balladry. So it seems, there’s only one question on everyone’s lips tonight: will Barnett’s music be able to stand up in these vast four walls?

From the moment Barnett steps on stage with her duo of mop-haired musicians, all pre-conceptions are shattered. Any elements that may have inhibited Barnett’s performance have been used to her advantage; instead of trying to adapt her notoriously introverted stage presence to the large setting, she angles her mic slightly towards her band mates, creating a surprising degree of intimacy in Somerset House. And for the first half of the show, it feels like we’re intruding on a band practice – a feeling heightened by a set-list frontloaded with bluesy jam tracks and plodding bass-led numbers.

As night begins to fall, Barnett seems to step out of her comfort zone and just in time for a run of standouts from ‘Sometimes I Just Sit and Think and Sometimes I just Sit’, prompting the first choruses from a now zealous crowd. The psychedelic-grunge visuals go bolder, the lights more dramatic and Barnett more confident. As she ends the night, dropping to her knees to indulge in a blistering, fuzz-drenched solo, the answer to that former question couldn’t be more obvious.

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Words: Lisa Henderson

 

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