A good night in Los Angeles, California isn’t a party in The Hills, it’s a triple threat lineup at The Greek Theater in Griffith Park. That line up contains Waxahatchee, Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks and headliner Courtney Barnett, who's been on tour supporting her 2018 sophomore solo album release Tell Me How You Really Feel. The night was a meld of rock that’s new and old, but fitting just the same.
The calm night made way for perfect weather to serve the outdoor venue. Getting the evening started was the powerful coos of singer/songwriter Waxahatchee, aka Katie Crutchfield, sans her band. It was simply her and her acoustic guitar, confidently wailing away alone on stage. For the last three songs she invited on Courtney Barnett’s bandmate, as well as her twin sister Allison to join in. You can read our full review on last year’s Waxahatchee show for the full scope.
Not long after Waxahatchee, Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks took the stage in true slack rock fashion. The former Pavement frontman was sincerely enjoying himself as he slayed guitar solos on cuts off the band’s latest record Sparkle Hard. The prolific college-rock musician also took a stab at Neil Young’s “Barstool Blues” and shortly after that, Malkmus brought his “good friend” on stage, AKA Sonic Youth’s Kim Gordon, to sing their collab track “Refute.” They ended the set on Pavement lick “You Are A Light” off of Terror Twilight, which is RARE. You can indulge in all the best highlights of a Malkmus & Jicks show over at our review from their show earlier this summer at the Roxy.
But now it’s time to dish about the star of the night, this review goes out to Aussie rocker Courtney Barnett, who exuded an energizing light to a sea of devout fans. She began her set with all her most catchy tunes, both off the debut and sophomore albums: “Hopefulessness,” “City Looks Pretty” and “Avant Gardener” and "Nameless, Faceless." Watch a fan-shot video "Nameless, Faceless" from the set below:
The set was made whole with heavy offset “I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch,” where her deadpan, story-telling vocals transformed into angsty growls and raspy shouts. Barnett’s staple guitar style was eminent throughout the set as she swung it back and forth and shredded on that axe low to the ground in true guitar hero fashion. Barnett consistently proves that women don’t have to succumb to any standard methods of playing, they can thrash and gut you just the same as any wailer out there would.
Slower songs brought the crowd’s antsy-ness down perfectly, especially with “Depreston,” which she prefaced with by saying “I’m gonna play a slow romantic song.” The crowd was loudly singing along to each word, evidence of the footprint Barnett has left on the rock world in just five or so years. Toward the end of the set, Barnett invited Waxahatchee back on the stage to sing a cover of Elyse Weinberg’s “Houses.”
The set ended on one of the tracks that first caught our attention back in 2013, “History Eraser.” She came back for a three-song encore where she sang an emotional rendition of Gillian Welch’s “Everything Is Free” solo before her band came back out for “Anonymous Club” and “Pedestrian at Best.”
Barnett is the master of turning a seemingly mundane conversation into a meaningful, catchy tune. And in that, transform these tiny narratives into a whole, live production. Watch her craft her story on the stage, if you ever get the chance. She plays in Vancouver, BC tomorrow night.
