Monday, Tuesday, Happy Daze

The gig was hosted at Barfly which provided an intimate setting, for what was a show for competition winners. Kurt Vile had not brought a backing band along on this occasion and he made everyone wait. The crowds were a bunch of happy campers though –true to the stoner spirit. They did not mind one bit as Vile spent some time tuning his guitar on stage and repeatedly asked his sound engineer for “more reverb, yeaa!”

Hailing from Philadelphia, Vile was initially a part of The War on Drugs which was followed by constant touring with his backing band The Violators. His writings come across as incoherent, yet purposefully poetic and although he lands his words in a leisurely way, boy, do they pack a punch. Vile’s songs are unhurried and spacious and have uncanny knack for conveying his deep meanderings.

I found his previous album Smoke Ring for My Halo absolutely superb and the appearance of a few choice songs, such as the blissful ‘Jesus Fever’ and loving ‘Baby’s Arms’, made my night. One admirable thing to note about Kurt Vile is that even though he comes across as overt about religion, it never really becomes annoying. He somehow manages to sing his praises, and not detract from the musical experience – that is pretty rare.

Once tuned to perfection, Vile’s guitar squeaked awake as he shared his stoner wisdom with ‘Wakin’ on a Pretty Day’, a song from his fifth latest studio album Wakin on a Pretty Daze. “Phone ringing off the shelf… ” he sang, epitomizing his laid-back nature.

He continued on to play some more people pleasers which lulled the crowd into a pretty daze. A kind of seduction by soothing is how one could describeit. ‘Peeping Tomboy’, also from Smoke Ring for My Halo, came across as a crowd favourite with quite a few happy campers chiming in to Vile’s dulcet tones.

With no backing band most of what Kurt plays has a more subtle and easy going feel to it than what you hear in the album versions. Perhaps this is what he intended. In Vile’s head, there is all the time in the world and no need for rushin’ and the crowd acknowledged that.

Like most geniuses Kurt’s mutterings are very erratic, some of them incredible and some not so. His live performances are, however, undoubtedly exceptional and I am totally looking forward to seeing him rock out once more at the Field Day festival tomorrow. Yeaa!