Experiencing an artist live for the first time with only mild exposure to his songs and hyped by the reviews of his most recent album can be risky at times. This time it was my turn to hear Kurt Vile and the Violators live for the first time, having missed his show with Courtney Barnett in October of 2017, not because of timing but because they only stopped in Toronto.
I did not ask Who he was but entered the venue trying to understand What is Kurt Vile? And what is it about his music that attracts so many to a sold-out show in the middle of winter?.
This current tour is in support of his seventh studio album “Bottle It In” where Kurt and The Violators seem to be in their own element, bringing together their own muses and demons while keeping the characteristic laid back style from his previous musical endeavors.
The show went on smoothly and gave Vile and the band the opportunity to showcase, with several songs that played for more than 8 minutes, their compositions and the multi-instrumentalist and versatility they all possessed. In between songs Kurt changed instruments, from what I counted, at least 9 times,
The general vibe which with you could best describe the show is of a chilling and tripping music reminiscent at many times of the Velvet Underground, REM, Neil Young, and Sonic Youth. It felt like witnessing a band that got inspired from many of the best but made those influences their own, creating a sound that invites our own souls to wind down, breathe deep and take it easy, even if it means taking it in and accepting your melancholy, your winter blues and the struggles of life (and death).
I approached Kurt Vile’s show out of curiosity at first but stayed due to the soothing solemnity of the music, his guitar skills and the cohesiveness and humbleness of the show itself. Definitely, a nice change of pace, a warm encounter, and a pleasant memory to play many times on the sofa and coming to terms with reality.
Setlist
Loading Zones
Jesus Fever
Bassackwards
I’m an Outlaw
Check Baby
Girl Called Alex
Cold Was the Wind
Peeping Tomboy
Yeah Bones
Wakin on a Pretty Day
Puppet to the Man
Skinny Mini
Wild Imagination
Encore
Pretty Pimpin
Mutinies
Baby’s Arms
Reviewer – Ricardo D. Flores
Photographer – Jean-Michel Lacombe
