by Brittney Corridean
A night with Courtney Barnett and San Fermin at Union Transfer was the perfect setting for a low-key evening of good music and somewhat uncommon entertainment.
The eight person band of San Fermin brought their diversified sound to the venue and the guests appeared to be impressed with their sound and performance. It had some people around me talking about how they meshed with the indie rock star Courtney Barnett. For those who are familiar with Barnett’s witty, modern-day grunge sound, the harmonious, classical influenced sounds of San Fermin had some guests saying hmmm…with a scratch on the head in the most delightful way.
Their stage presence was quite impressive. Each band member was very engaging and seemed to move to the music in their own tailored way. The female vocalist wore a long, black dress with a one armed sleeve that had a sense of elegance to it. During the last song they performed, “The Count”, the stage looked as if they had candles floating in the air, specifically placed. It gave a dark, romantic vibe which ended their set on a thoughtful note.
While waiting for Barnett’s set to start, there was a mixture of old Motown music playing which, again, had people wondering how does this fit? Maybe it was Ms. Barnett’s way of stating she has a cultured palate in music and wants to enjoy the eclecticism of her musical taste. No matter the reason, when she and her band got on stage, it was right to rocking out.
Barnett opened up with “David” which was a perfect kick start to the night. Her laid back, care free attitude showed throughout the evening. Her voice live is so sweet and haunting. I was amazed at how much it stood out over the instruments. The bass player and guitarist also provided backup vocals and would provide the chorus for a lot of the songs.
During the show, she had the black and white animated video from her single “Anonymous Club” repeating in the background. The video consists of eyes crying, devilish looking animals wondering through a forest that resembled something out of Where the Wild Things Are, and hands that seemed to spawn other hands…if that makes sense. It was very interesting to see how this tied in with each song that she played. The motions of the pictures went to the music no matter the pace and it kept me in a trance the entire time. It was hard to look away.
Barnett’s mellowed out energy kept the night at a pretty low volume for the crowd. There were cheers of course, but everyone seemed to be really into the performance. It was pretty captivating. She joked with an audience member during the show that she shook hands with and said, “Does this mean we’re married now? I think it means we’re married.”
Towards the end, Bartnett began to wrap things up with her two hits “Avant Gardner” and “History Eraser”. Ironically, her laid back personal fits in with “Avant Gardner” which is about a young girl starting out a typical day and ending up in an ambulance from having a panic attack. The witty lyrics have you laughing, but also have you thinking about what can provoke that sort of thing to happen out of nowhere time to time.
Must be those Mundane Mondays…
