Live Review: Courtney Barnett, Teeth & Tongue

Teeth & Tongue, although starting as a solo venture for vocalist and songwriter Jess Cornelius, has grown to a five-piece tonight before a sizeable early crowd. Along with the expansion of her band, her presence as a performer has developed and the songs from her album, Grids, of last year fit well on the bigger stage of The Metro Theatre. The new single, Cupcake, was received well by the crowd, along with her vocal performance and friendly banter. A joy to witness.

There can be no bigger buzz Australian artist of this year than Courtney Barnett. Her debut album has propelled her into The Ellen Degeneres Show zone and given her justified popularity overseas and finally in her home nation as well. This was the second of two sold-out shows at the Metro for the Melbourne songstress, but you wouldn’t have seen any nerves. Barnett’s on-stage demeanour is one of shyness and almost embarrassment. That is, until she begins to play. She comes alive during her songs, possessed by the guitar driven melodies of everyday life, particularly tracks like Pedestrian At Best, Debbie Downer and a rousing cover of The Breeders’ Cannonball.

Barnett ironically draws attention with her casual, down-to-earth attitude. She doesn’t talk much and when she does it almost feels awkward, like she is not sure what to say. So she lets her guitar do the talking, and we don’t mind. Her vocal delivery seems to almost come out as a drawl sometimes, but it if you really watch, you can see that she knows what she’s doing and doesn’t miss a beat.

“I’m just trying really hard to make you, notice me being around”, she sang solo, covering The Lemonheads; their cheeky lyrics suitably matching her own. Pickles From The Jar ended a perfectly rounded set. We’ve noticed you, Courtney, and we hope you’ll stick around.