Live Review: Villagers, Courtney Barnett

Dressed like a troubadour, Victorian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett kicked things off with a solo set full of recent singles plus a few songs from her upcoming EP. Opening with Canned Tomatoes (Whole) from the I've Got A Friend Called Emily Ferris EP, Barnett's gritty vocals and intelligent songwriting showed why she's drawn such comparisons with other anti-folk heroes like Jeffrey Lewis and Kimya Dawson. New song Out Of The Woodwork worked well alongside the older material and will sound great when it's recorded. There was of course the standout single Lance Jr. and final song History Eraser. The latter featured Villagers drummer James Byrne accompanying Barnett on drums, helping to cap off a great set.

The audience shuffled from the bar to the front of the stage as Conor O'Brien and keyboardist Cormac Curran arrived onstage to perform an acoustic version of Memoir. As the rest of the band came on for My Lighthouse, O'Brien announced, “This is the Villagers, everybody! This is our first time in Freo and we're really happy to be here,” as the band kicked into the upbeat The Pact from their debut Becoming A Jackal. From then on, they were firing on all cylinders, delivering slow-burner track Home and latest single Nothing Arrived with far more gusto and energy.

The audience seemed to feed off as well, becoming more and more responsive as the set progressed and even surpassing the band in volume a few times on Becoming A Jackal with their singing. Things took an electronic turn with the band incorporating samplers and sequencers for new track The Waves. O'Brien wailed over the top, becoming increasingly impassioned in his vocals as he gripped the mic stand, making for one of the highlights of the set.

“This is our last song,” said O'Brien, leading to a huge collective groan from the audience. O'Brien quickly added, “Don't worry, it's our fake last song,” before launching into a rollicking version of Ship Of Promises, which ended with a far more intense, feedback-laden outro. He returned alone onstage shortly after to play That Day before the band returned for The Meaning Of The Ritual. It was funny to see audience members now shushing each other because they didn't want to miss a single note. The band left again and it was up to O'Brien to cap off the show with the down-tempo Twenty Seven Strangers.