Kurt Vile plays sold-out Commodore Ballroom with band the Violators
The musician performed a full set Wednesday night, leading with new album tracks and a stripped-down rendition of 2011's "Runner Ups" that left the crowd silent.
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Kurt Vile brought his band the Violators to a sold-out show at the Commodore Ballroom on Wednesday night. The musician didn't say much to the crowd—"Do you guys like sports?" was one of his few questions—but his performance spoke for itself.
Vile opened with a heavy dose of his newest album, this year's Philadelphia's been good to me, leading with the instrumental "Red Room Dub" and the album opener "Zoom 97." While a good portion of the crowd wasn't super familiar with the latest material, Vile easily swayed the room with the pure mastery of his craft and awesome lighting techniques that worked perfectly with the music.
New album tracks "Rock o'Stone" and the rambling "99 BPM" were used to great effect before what was probably the highlight of the evening: halfway through the set, the other four band members left the stage and Vile performed a stripped-down version of "Runner Ups" off his 2011 album Smoke Ring For My Halo. The crowd fell silent. "You could have heard a pin drop in the Commodore," with only Vile's incredible rendition of the song filling the room—his hands gliding perfectly on his guitar while his voice hit lyrics that resonated with the whole body: "My best friend's long gone, but I got runner ups." Apparently Vile doesn't play the song everywhere on this current tour, so Vancouver got lucky.
Vile went back to a couple of new tracks, including "Chance to Bleed," before rolling out three consecutive hits: "Mount Airy Hill," the iconic "Pretty Pimpin," and "Wakin on a Pretty Day," which ended on an extended and impressive riff. The band returned for "Bassackwards" before finishing with Philadelphia closer "Avalanches of Snow."
