Since the release of the fantastic Things Take Time, Take Time the latter part of last year, Courtney Barnett has been busy.  Not only touring with her longstanding band of Dave Mudie (drums) and Bones Sloane (bass) but kicking off the touring festival “Here and There” which saw Barnett go around the US with a host of amazing artists from Lucy Dacus and Japanese Breakfast to Alvvays and Snail Mail and Sleater-Kinney. And that’s not counting running a record label, Milk Records!   

Though Courtney Barnett’s records are each a master class in songwriting craft, it’s her live shows that showcase her immense talents. Having last performed in Baltimore’s Rams Head Live! in 2016, Barnett and company took the stage Saturday night to an enthusiastic crowd that filled all three tiers of this venue.  After a brilliant set by California band, We Don’t Ride llamas, Barnett took no time in turning up the volume and kicking off her set with the lead-off single from the most recent album, “Rae Street.”  

The conversational nature of Courtney Barnett’s writing makes it immediately relatable.  From the opening song of her set at Rams Head Live, “Rae Street,” this packed crowd sung along with the chorus – Well time is money, and money is no man’s friend – making that immediate sense of connection.  Barnett is a force that is in complete control but can seem – in those moments of complete abandon – where the guitar becomes a conduit of that uncontrollable emotion.  And nowhere else is that more clear than in “Small Poppies” with the slow start that then explodes as Barnett thrashes about from one side of the stage to the next in that controlled trance-like state as the crowd sings along, “an eye for an eye for an eye.”

Sometimes sounding larger than the three-piece on stage, the band was tight and focused. “Thank you for singing with us.  Definitely encouraged.,” Courtney said taking a rare breath in between songs. “Don’t be shy.” But this audience was anything but shy. Playing the heck out of fan favorites like “Depreston” and “Elevator Operator” Courtney Barnett and her band had everyone clapping along and sweating, but maybe not as much as those three, as they left their respective hearts on the stage.

Courtney Barnett has that way of writing some of the catchiest of catchy hooks, and that is evident in the bouncing “If I Don’t Hear from You Tonight.” Keeping that momentum going, she and the band went from one rocking groove to another with “History Eraser” and “Pedestrian At Best,” with it’s fuzzed out guitar stream-of-consciousness lines that got a huge response from the crowd.

As things wound down, the audience wasn’t ready for the ride to end as Courtney Barnett came back out to the stage for the encore to play “Oh the Night” solo before Bones and Dave returned to finish out the set with “Sunday Roast” and the apt “Before You Gotta Go.” An beautifully brilliant end to a beautifully brilliant evening.

Courtney Barnett continues her tour and it’s one of the best times to be had in this topsy turvy world. Definitely one not to miss!

The set list included: 

Rae Street
Avant Gardener
Nameless, Faceless
Need a Little Time
Small poppies
Turning Green
Depreston
Here’s the Thing
City Looks Pretty
Elevator Operator
Lance Jr
If I Don’t Hear from You Tonight
History Eraser
Pedestrian At Best
Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go To The Party
Write a List of Things to Look Forward To

Encore:

Oh the Night (solo)
Sunday Roast
Before You Gotta Go

Here are more photos of Courtney Barnett performing at Rams Head Live!

Here are some photos of We Don’t Ride Llamas opening for Courtney Barnett at Rams Head Live!