Aussie singer/songwriter/southpaw guitarist Courtney Barnett played a sold-out show at the Fillmore in San Francisco on October 21, in support of her debut record, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit (and in between dates opening for Blur in LA and New York). Displaying all the wit and charm evident on her records, Barnett tore through a 17-song setlist, which is just about half a dozen shy of every song she’s released so far. With a catalog that equally split between wry rockers and quiet meditations, she closed out the set on a high note, with her two hardest rocking songs, Sometimes I Sit…’s racous lead single “Pedestrian at Best,” and came back for an encore with “History Eraser,” from her How to Carve a Carrot into a Rose EP.
San Francisco’s Tony Molina opened the show, with what seemed like surprisingly long setlist for an opening band that in reality took about 28 minutes for Molina and his four bandmates to tear through. Molina’s mix of hardcore sounds and pop hooks definitely left the early crowd wanting more, which is basically what all acts—opening or otherwise—should aspire to. His record Dissed and Dismissed is well worth checking out, even if its 12 songs ran longer than 12 minutes.
Courtney Barnett setlist:
Avant Gardener
Dead Fox
Out of the Woodwork
Lance Jr
Are You Looking After Yourself?
Canned Tomatoes (Whole)
Elevator Operator
Don’t Apply Compression Gently
Depreston
Boxing Day Blues (Revisited)
An Illustration of Loneliness (Sleepless in New York)
Debbie Downer
Small Poppies
Kim’s Caravan
Nobody Really Cares If You Don’t Go to the Party
Pedestrian at Best
Encore
History Eraser
Three Match Breeze 