Kurt Vile Review

My first encounter with Kurt Vile occurred while I was exiting the ladies bathrooms and he was on his way in — well with that hair, he can totally get away with it. As we passed, I tripped on the step (way to make an impression) and he mimicked my subsequent laugh in an impressively high-pitched, girly tone. I was later informed that another friend had also met Vile at the cross-roads between entering and exiting the ladies bathroom — maybe that's just his thing. 

The Red Rattler in Marrickville is a very intimate venue, made all the more intimate by an enthusiastic crowd cramming as far forward as they could manage. In between each song though, the once brutal audience were wowed into complete silence. There was something altogether reverent about the effect Vile had upon his spectators.

He kicked off by playing a few solo tracks sans Violators. It was very raw and intimate, him crooning at the crowd with acoustic guitar in tow. Then The Violators joined Kurt on stage and things got a whole lot louder and more raucous (in a good way).  

The performance exhibited a wide musical range, transitioning from Jeff Buckley territory, to the grungier side of rock and right back around to ballads reminiscent of Bob Dylan. The show was also peppered with Vile's attempts at Aussie slang. His 'good-a-day mayyyte' was particularly endearing, as were his frequent wisecracks and the way he breathed 'Sydney' into the microphone as if it were pillow talk between bedfellows.

Later on, the Violators made their exit and Vile took the stage solo again, which lent a nice cyclical structure to the show. The band reunited again though to round the performance off and make their final bow (which they didn't actually do, thankfully).

The most enjoyable aspect of the night was how laid back Vile and The Violators were. I guess all that practice busking on a Williamsburg corner brings you right back down to earth and it really works in his favour. Even Kim Gordon of Sonic Youth is a big fan, naming listening to Vile's 2009 album Childish Prodigy as one of her "guilty pleasures." Watch this space!

Baby's Arms [Kurt Vile] by Prison Letters

Kurt Vile and The Violators will be playing Meredith Festival this weekend.