Australian rocker Courtney Barnett has long dreamed of curating her own music festival. As a kid she crafted mix tapes of fantasy lineups, and designed t-shirts for the fantasy merch tent. With 2022’s Here and There Festival, she has finally realized her dream.
The title comes from a lyric from “Scotty Says,” an early Courtney Barnett song about touring around Australia: “I got lost somewhere between here and there / I’m not sure what the town is called.” With that as the inspiration, booking the tour stop in Syracuse, specifically LaFayette, seems quite appropriate. No offense to our beloved Syracuse.
Each stop of the tour features a different lineup, handpicked by Courtney Barnett, featuring friends new and old. For this gig, at Beak and Skiff Orchards, Hana Vu opened the night up with “Aubade,” a punkish rocker. Her quartet played in front of static and slightly distressing images of an eye, mouth and ear. “My House” followed and it was immediately apparent that Vu’s voice would carry the set, searing and soaring. Accentuating the strong point, she employed a cool echo at times, doubling her voice with a slight delay. The band squeezed a quick eight songs into their 30-minute slot, from the slow and groovy “Everybody’s Birthday” to the more powerful rocking closer “Public Storage.”
To Barnett’s credit, the festival, on this night at least, and we suspect across the board, was very well curated. The crowd seemed to be only there for whoever was on stage at that time. Singing all the lyrics, calling out the obscure requests, pumping all the fists, screaming during all the breaks. For a four band bill to keep the crowd thrilled throughout a five hour show is no small feat.
Next Faye Webster brought her quintet to the stage. The music was more demure, but no less exciting. They were accompanied by a large blow up bust of a woman, a bit ostentatious which didn’t quite match the music, but Webster was full of interesting surprises. The band glided through the set, pedal steel riding the crest of light slinky grooves, with Webster’s distinct nasal and airy voice getting her points across with complex repetition. A combo of “I Know I’m Funny Haha” and “Johnny” highlighted the band’s strengths. Then the crowd was hit with a massive left turn as they then played a piece of music from Pokemon. A catchy and dreamy 8-bit sounding instrumental that was equally fun and intriguing. An indie-pop band that features a pedal steel and a fiddle without much of a glint of country is sure to keep things interesting.
Opening with “Heat Wave,” Lindsey Jordan’s Snail Mail immediately amped the energy back up, returning to Vu’s punk trend and adding a layer of 90’s grunge. Another distinct female voice to fall in love with, Jordan emoted her lyrics, dropping to her knees even during “Madonna.” “I consecrate my life to kneeling at your altar,” she sang, guitarless. Bass-heavy melodies and rhythms were interesting on their own, but unfortunately tended to drown out the rest of the band. Switching out guitars on every song, Jordan kept her roadie busy, who swapped her out with the swiftness and stealth of a tennis ball boy. A cover of Muse’s “Starlight” fit into the set’s originals nicely. Near set’s end, the crowd was polled for the last song. “Pristine” beat out “Valentine” in a hands-in-the-air landslide. Fortunately, there was time for both. It would have been a shame to skip “Valentine,” what with Cupid projected on the screen and the roses wrapping Jordan’s mic stand. Though the fans vote proved justified and the catchy synths of “Pristine” and its and powerful bass closed out the set in style: “This feels like the same party every weekend.”
With her hand-picked festival mates paving the way, young and vibrant artists one and all, Courtney Barnett and her trio took the stage for the final set with their work cut out for them. With the sun fully down, the video screen and lights in full effect, and with the help of three guitar amps, they flexed their headliner muscle immediately. Her set opened as her latest release does, with “Rae Street,” singing, “Time is money / and money is no man’s friend.” She dove back into her catalog with “Avant Gardener” previewing everyone’s next morning with the line “It’s a Monday, it’s so mundane.”
Barnett’s music is the rare beast that combines incredible wordplay behind a driving raw rock power. Fans were eager to sing along and did so with gusto, keeping up with the at times rapid fire lyrics.
“Small Poppies” was a rock beat down, a slog through the mud with a heavyweight, Barnett’s searing guitar noise cutting through the bass and drums bombast. The thrashing continued with “Turning Green,” Barnett playing a classic rock staple cowbell simultaneously with her guitar, before tossing it aside and letting loose on the six string.
Faye Webster, in another welcome surprise, returned to the stage to provide some added guitar and vocals to “An Illustration of Loneliness” late in the set. Her fuzzy guitar tone fit in musically while her royal blue shirt and pants blended perfectly with the lighting scheme on stage.
Courtney Barnett knocks your socks off, stuffs them down your pants and then proceeds to kick them repeatedly for an hour. A relentlessly and powerfully good set from her power rock trio. And she proved to be a damn good festival producer as well, proved to be a great way to spend a Sunday evening at an apple orchard that may not have been here or there.
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