Review: Kurt Vile and the Violators, Anson Rooms

Since appearing on the scene as the lead guitarist of the neo-psychadelic rock band The War on Drugs in the early 2000’s, Kurt Vile has long become synonymous with the lo-fi guitar pop scene of the 21st century.

Kurt went solo in 2008 with his debut album Constant Hitmaker which set the tone for an artist that would go on to work tirelessly and write, record and release eleven records in ten years. So much so that his most recent addition to his discography, Bottle It In had its release date postponed from April until last month so the artist could have some rest time between recording and touring.

Now, almost exactly a month on from the records release date, Kurt Vile has come to the Anson Rooms to show Bristol the fruits of his most current labours.

At 38 years of age, Kurt Vile casts a small figure on the stage. Adorning his usual uniform of an open checked flannel shirt, t shirt and blue jeans, with his face framed by his long black hair, he looks unchanged from the man who first introduced himself to the public in 2003.

Vile wastes no time on introductions as him and the rest of The Violators assume their positions to loud applause. The first song of the show is also the first song of the new album, Loading Zones is head to toe Kurt Vile and is a fitting opener for those who may not yet be fully acquainted with Bottle It In.

The man from Philadelphia and his sound embody America in so many ways. Influences ranging from the lo-fi slacker rock sound of Pavement to Beck to Neil Diamond are evident in his performance as he offers up a mix of sludgy rock rifts, harmonic acoustic guitar solos and whimsical conversational lyrics sung in a deep monotone Pennsylvanian accent.

Vile is a guitar genius in action. His guitar teach has the thankless job of replacing the front man’s instrument for him after nearly every song. When he’s playing, Vile’s fingers stalk the fret board like a spider and tickle every note in a meaningful display of American composition.

The Anson Rooms is at borderline capacity tonight and the crowd is a mixture of all ages from 14 up and all seem content just standing and listening to what is being played for them. This is not a sing along and dance kind of show but is instead a time to stand and appreciate the work of the artist on stage.

That being said, Kurt’s band, the Violators are equally responsible for the aura created as Kurt himself, but I feel the band where slightly let down by the sound this evening as Vile’s guitar seemed to dominate the sound almost too much at times, with the bass sometimes nowhere to be seen, thus distracting from the makeup of the songs being played and detracting from the capabilities of certain parts of the performance by subduing the potential energy of it.

Tonight Bristol was offered a healthy portion of Vile’s new material and plenty of more familiar numbers that fans will no doubt been wanting to hear. An encore was requested and instantly accepted as Vile treated the crowd to his biggest hit to date, Pretty Pimpin and the up temp dreamy hit Freak Train.

Kurt Vile and his new album will no doubt go on to further success and I would very much implore anyone to catch him where they can this summer as he will no doubt feature heavily on the festival circuit.