During the Oregon and Washington legs of Courtney Barnett‘s own touring festival, Here and There, she and Fred Armisen teamed up with Sleater-Kinney to cover Olivia Newtown-John‘s 1981 hit ‘Physical’.
The tribute closed out Sleater-Kinney’s sets at McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale, Oregon on Saturday (August 20) and Marymoor Park in Redmond, Washington on Sunday (August 21). During their rendition, the band, Barnett and Armisen donned headbands and carried out a synchronised aerobics routine.
Watch fan-shot footage from both shows below:
Newton-John died on August 8, aged 73, following a lengthy battle with breast cancer. Following her death, tributes poured in from the likes of Kylie Minogue, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Dionne Warwick and her Grease co-star John Travolta.
Others to have paid tribute to Newton-John include her husband John Easterling, ABBA, Mariah Carey, Rebel Wilson and The Chicks, the latter of whom covered Grease song ‘Hopelessly Devoted To You’ during a concert. Last week, during one of their six shows at London’s Wembley Stadium, Coldplay were joined by Natalie Imbruglia to perform Grease‘s ‘Summer Nights’.
Barnett’s Here and There festival kicked off in Kansas City earlier this month, continues this Friday (August 26) in Stanford, and will conclude in Denver next month. Each date of the festival features a unique line-up; in addition to performances from Barnett at all of them, other artists to play on the run include Lucy Dacus, The Beths, Bartees Strange, Snail Mail, Alvvays, Waxahatchee, Julia Jacklin and Japanese Breakfast. See remaining dates and details here.
Last Friday, Barnett’s Milk! Records released a compilation album featuring B-sides, demos and live tracks from artists performing as part of Here and There, including Sleater-Kinney, Barnett, The Beths, Jacklin, Faye Webster and more. Funds raised from the compilation will aid reproductive rights groups – specifically, the National Network of Abortion Funds and Advocates for Youth.
The post Watch Sleater-Kinney and Courtney Barnett cover Olivia Newton-John’s ‘Physical’ appeared first on NME.
