Courtney Barnett ProfileMilk Records' gang oozed good vibes, attitudes and energies as they filed on and off. Pitchfork darling and Grammy nominee Courtney Barnett casually helped Celeste Potter from Ouch My Face to untangle her guitar pedals. Fraser A Gorman roadied for East Brunswick All Girls Choir, and later assumed the role of Dan Luscombe in the CB3. Jen Cloher grinned madly as she oversaw from sidestage the ramshackle road gang she'd assembled and nurtured. "Adelaide, you're the first stop on this tour," she said. "You legends!"
But Ouch My Face, with its angular and precise art-punk, clearly baffled some of those legends. Potter sang through a pitchshifter to imitate a roided-up bogan — sexual politics in Aussie indie hasn't been so inspired and fun since Quan Yeomans performed Pop Porn in a dress at the inaugural Homebake. East Brunswick All Girls Choir played acid-damaged country-rock not radically dissimilar to Barnett's own, and Jen Cloher reminded all of her own songwriting prowess. She graciously shared the spotlight with Barnett for a Grateful Dead cover, and as usual Barnett refused to stand centrestage (even when fronting her own band). Fraser A Gorman's band was rockier than during his previous Adelaide visit, and of course Courtney Barnett ran through Depreston, Pedestrian At Best, Pickles From The Jar and Dead Fox.
Each band's set overlapped with the next, in the sort of fun, free-form performances they might do at each other's backyard barbecues. There was no hierarchy. Milk! Records is clearly the rare kind of authentic, creative and supportive community. Leave it to Barnett and Cloher to take their talent and good fortune and funnel it into a joyously makeshift lo-fi Aussie rock'n'roll circus.
