The Boiler Shop is still dipped in sunlight and the audience seems to still be coming down from their working day but King Hannah doesn’t let it affect their warm, captivating sound and performance. It is their lead vocals that truly make their sound stand out to me. A hazy and distorted dream rock vibe vibrates off the stage and captures their audience. Most of them are staring up at the stage in awe, others are still catching up on whatever they got up to over the weekend. I guess there’s no escaping those types…
As soon as Kurt Vile and band enter the stage the chatter stops. His charming awkwardness and natural talent of writing musically intricate songs make for another enchanting performance. He clearly lives in his own world and takes every one of his adoring fans with him while singing his poetic stoner rock songs. There aren’t many musicians that can play a stripped back song, all on their own on a massive stage in a massive venue and keep the audience quiet, but Kurt Vile can.
Throughout his set Vile loosens up more and more, enjoying the admiration coming from the room, giving his fans an endearing “I love you” once or twice. His nonchalant performance makes me want to jump on the stage myself, if he can do it, I probably can too… I’m guessing that’s the magic of a Kurt Vile live performance. The first few notes of his hit single ‘Pretty Pimpin” are unsurprisingly the ones that receive the most enthusiastic reaction, even though he plays an eclectic mix of old and new tracks. ‘Bassackwards’, ‘Wakin on a Pretty Day’, ‘Flying (like a fast train)’, of his latest album, and ‘Like Exploding Stones’ all passed the revue.
His comfortable and unhurried, conversational style is the perfect match for this slow Tuesday evening. The American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer drifts around the stage seemingly unbothered by anything else but the music, and it is that confidence and belief in his music that makes his such a fascinating performance. His appearance simple, a T-shirt, jeans, and a checkered shirt, his curls wild and untamed, “all I see is curls”, the focus lies solely on the music. There aren’t many like Kurt Vile around anymore, which is a shame, but at least we have Kurt Vile.
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