Concert Review: Courtney Barnett Gives Her Heart To Prospect Park
At her BRIC! Celebrate Brooklyn show, at Prospect Park, Courtney Barnett was a complete badass in the simplest way: she gave her heart. Frankly, it was not until I saw her live that I realized relatable and relevant are one in the same in the music world.
More and more people are becoming enraptured by Courtney Barnett’s style and her sophomore album, Tell Me How You Feel, because they see her as the voice of their inner, emotional worlds. Watching persons singing along to tracks, “Nameless, Faceless,” “Small Poppies”, “Need A LittleTime,” and “History Eraser,” in a way, told me how they felt. Courtney does not write lyrics about unicorns riding unicorns. She instead goes for the quiet, human observance; the novels of thoughts we write in our head as we sit and watch people pass through our life. For this, reason she combines intensity, insightfulness, and intimacy.
Whether she is going hard-rock, grunge, garage, or surf, there is no denying that Courtney Barnett embodies rock n’ roll’s spirit of inquisitiveness and care. While many attribute this genre to rebellion, it is also one that speaks to love and fighting for it in every way. From “Depreston” to “Anonymous Club,” that is what Courtney is doing: fighting to invest her heart in herself and her surroundings. Thus, I could not help but look at the men who sang and related to tracks like “I’m Not Your Mother, I’m Not Your Bitch” or “Kim’s Caravan.” While some will label Barnett as a “rocker chick,” she supersedes such definitions by creating songs that talk about crashing through expectations and norms, which is the most human thing we all do. She confounds people that truly believe this world “feels” too much by writing tracks about how humanity is not feeling right.
Personally, I believe to put a person in “box” is to put their soul in a coffin. From “Pedestrian At Best” to “Charity,” Courtney used her voice and body to break through any spiritual hinges. When she is playing her guitar she either bends forward as if music was pushing her down or she throws her eyes up as if it was giving her a vision. Blessed with a voice that stills like a lake, Courtney Barnett is an artist that lets music land on her body and soul: as if her melodies flew in on airplane and her verses strolled in for flight. For More Information On Courtney Barnett Click Here.
