On Thursday April 28, Courtney Barnett brought her A-game to a sold out show at the Riviera Theater. With the Nashville-based band Bully to open this show, fans were in for a treat and I had a front-row experience of the magic. 

Going into the concert, I didn’t know what to expect or how she was going to play her songs with a trio, Courtney on guitar, Dave Mudie on drums, and Bones Sloane on bass. Although the majority of her songs feature a piano part and a second guitar part, fans at the show didn’t miss much as she used her unique playing style to add volume and depth in her live performance.

With a catalog totally just 28 different songs, Courtney and her band powered through a riveting 16-song set. Kicking off the show with a fan favorite “Dead Fox“, she immediately hooked the fans into a fun night full of dancing a singing along to her witty lyrics.

Throughout the rest of her set, she played songs like the pop-sounding “Debbie Downer”, to the slow, yet beautifully written story-turned-song “Deprestion”, to the head-banging single “Pedestrian at Best”. She also included a new tune, which is an ode to ramen noodles: “Three Packs a Day”. 

To finish a night that I wish never ended, Courtney and her band came out for a two-song encore. The first song coming from her A Milk! Records Compilation: “Pickles in a Jar”. This is a lesser known song among fans, but the Footloose sounding tune was enough to get the packed venue twistin’ and grovin’. Fans weren’t going to be leaving without hearing “Avant Gardner”, a story of an asthma attack.

From a very psychedelic backdrop/lighting throughout the show, to a singing along and dancing crowd, to a rocking performance by Courtney Barnett and her trio, they did a good job of warming up the city of Chicago on a chilly and rainy night. As someone who goes to concerts all the time, this was by far one of the best shows I have been to.

Setlist:

• Dead Fox
• Scotty Says
• Debbie Downer
• An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)
• Out of the Woodwork
• Small Poppies
• Deprestion
• Three Packs a Day
• Pedestrian at Best
• Are You Looking After Yourself?
• Lance Jr.
• Elevator Operator
• Kim’s Caravan
• Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party

Encore:

• Pickles From the Jar
• Avant Gardner