The fantastically monikered Kurt Vile plays his first headline Irish gig in Whelan’s and the place is rammed. My anticipation is tempered with a nagging knowledge that while he has released some cracking music over the last couple of years, there’s always been some stuff that I’ve felt was a bit… well… boring. So which Kurt will show up tonight?
Before any calls have to be made, however, is Windings. The set I heard here really caught me off guard. I knew Steve had moved on from the hardcore sounds of Giveamanakick, but the touchstones here, folks like Grandaddy, stop me in my tracks. The riffs are still there; but it’s the unexpected twists and turns could be the bones of a real Irish album we’re waiting for.
Kurt Vile finally takes to the stage alone after a lengthy soundcheck and launches into ‘Can’t Come’ from 2010′s God is Saying This to You. The band then take the stage for ‘On Tour’ from the most recent LP, Smoke Rings for my Halo, and the additional heft of the three guitars and pounding drums is immediately thrilling. This pattern follows, with more intimate solo tunes scattered throughout the predominantly full band set.
Vile’s lure works best when he’s locked onto a narcotic and reverb-soaked groove, where the combination of drawled vocals, shuffling rhythm and intricate fingerpicked guitar creates an intimate fragile world – particularly suitable for late night listening.
There are moments when the pace drags a little, particularly in full band mode. The swamp-blues sound of ‘Puppet to the Man’ and ‘Society is my Friend’ never really clicked with me on record, and while admittedly sounding a bit better in a live setting, don’t really do anything for me here either. ‘Peeping Tom’ perhaps best represented this side of him tonight, and admittedly a full gig of this would probably stretch one’s attention span, and stamina; so maybe Vile has got the mix right.
Some songs really benefit from being fleshed out, with stand-out ‘Ghost Town’ and ‘Smoke Rings for my Halo’ sounding particularly strong.
An initial one-song solo encore played immediately after the main set is eventually followed by a cracking 3-song encore with full band kicking off with ‘Baby’s Arms’ and ending with a squall of feedback on ‘Freak Train’.
It appears both Kurts have showed up tonight. While I wonder which one works best, they both pull off a great gig.
