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Archive for the ‘Kurt Vile and the Violators’ Category

Pixies (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2025)

Posted in Band of Skulls, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Philadelphia, PA, Pixies, The Fillmore Philadelphia on July 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 23, 2025] Pixies

I have seen Pixies four times in the last eight years.  I didn’t really know if I wanted to see them again–indeed when these two shows were announced I was iffy about the whole thing.  I did want to go to the first of two nights–where they were playing Bossanova and Trompe Le Monde (since they don’t play very much from either of those albums in their sets–I’ve only seen 2 songs from Bossanova and only 4 from Trompe).  But that turned out to be the night of The Decemberists concert, and I wasn’t going to pass up The Decemberists.

A couple of days before this, I asked my wife if she’d like to go to this show–mostly because Kurt Vile was opening.  She loves Kurt and, as she says, doesn’t know anything by Pixies (except, it turns out Here Comes Your Man).  She agreed and we wound up buying tickets at the box office day of (the first night sold out this one did not).

The Kurt show was great and I told my wife that Pixies are interesting because they do not talk between songs–indeed, they don’t talk at all.  And they will play like 30 songs in 90 minutes.

She felt bad that she didn’t know anything going into the show, but I told her afterwards that they played nearly ten (out of about 30) that I had never heard before.  But it was the 2o songs in between that I was really psyched about.

I was unsure who their new bass player was–it’s Emma Richardson of Band of Skulls.  The biggest difference between her and Paz (who I really liked) is that Emma has blonde hair.  Otherwise, she is an excellent addition to the band.

She sang the first song (and what I assumed was the final song).  The first song was a David Lynch cover “In Heaven (Lady in the Radiator Song)” that apparently Pixies released a long long time ago on a B-sides record.  She also sang Into the White.  Interestingly (or not) they did not play Gigantic (the most famous Kim Deal sung song).

Heaven is a slow, meandering song, something unlike most Pixies songs, so it felt like it was building to something.  Which turned out to be a song from their 2019 album that I didn’t know.  So, yes, I’m an old school Pixies fan and haven’t listened to much of anything they ‘ve released since they reunited. (more…)

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Kurt Vile and the Violators (Fillmore Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, July 23, 2025) [PIXIES]

Posted in Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Philadelphia, PA, Pixies, The Fillmore Philadelphia on July 24, 2025| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: July 23, 2025] Kurt Vile & The Violators

I had seen Kurt Vile in 2018, but since then, my wife has become a huge fan.  We saw him and the Violators at Union Transfer in 2022.

I know we enjoyed the UT show, but somehow, this opening set was a lot better.  We both felt that way.  Not that we had bad feelings about the UT show, but this just felt bigger, like he was just having a ton of fun.

But it is weird to have him opening since he is a pretty big deal (especially in Philly).  I don’t know if he could sell out the Fillmore on his own, but maybe…  Anyway, he strolled out said he was Kurt from Philly and these were his boys around him.

He started with a song from his new(ish) EP, the only song that we hadn’t heard him play before.

Like last time, he switched guitars pretty much every song and the Violators switched instruments from time to time. (more…)

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Kurt Vile and the Violators / Purlilng Hiss / Florry (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, October 10, 2023) Philly Music Fest Night 2 [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Birds of Maya, Florry, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Mike Polizze, Philly Music Fest, Purling Hiss on October 10, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 10, 2023] Kurt Vile and the Violators / Schoolly D / Emily Robb

I really respect Philly Music Fest.  If I lived closer to the venues and didn’t have other things (like a family), I’d love to go to every night.  But I don’t.  Lat year I didn’t go to any.  This year I’m going to one show.

But it’s not this one either.  Although of the nights I did not go to, this is certainly a good one.  If I’d had more time,  would have happily seen Kurt and Purling Hiss together.

I saw Purling Hiss six years ago.  I assumed they would be a really loud heavy metal band.  But they’re not.  They’re more of  loud indie rock band with lots and lots of guitars.

Here’s a few out of context sentences from reviews of their newest album Drag on Girard (it’s shame this show wasn’t at Johnny Brenda’s).

  • The fuzzed-out lead guitar, the languid vocals, and the unbridled backbeat that keeps it all together
  • Drag on Girard settles on the scuzzy, faded sound of a nicotine-stained dollar bin find from the ‘70s.
  • Their latest release, Drag On Girard, can be fuzzy, abrasive and at times chaotic, but the album still brings a melodic and catchy ambiance.
  • Drag On Girard is a raging amalgamation of late-’70s, pop-rock guitar solos and the rambunctious reemergence of the off-bent alternative punk scene of the 2010s

It’s pretty great stuff and makes for a fun live show.  I may have to check them out again soon.

What I did not realize was that

Purling Hiss is led by Mike Polizze, a fixture of the Philadelphia music scene. He’s connected to the world of Kurt Vile, the War on Drugs, and their shared affection for 1970s classic rock and its favoring of lengthy jam sessions and guitar histrionics. Vile and Jeff Zeigler of the War on Drugs assisted with Polizze’s well-received solo album, 2020’s Long Lost Solace Find.  

Polizze is also the main guy behind Birds of Maya, another garage/psychedelic band that makes noise.  I wonder if he brings out the noisy side of Kurt Vile.

Florry are a kind of sloppy “bar country” band.

Singer-songwriter Francie Medosch started out as a teenager recording tense, depressive lo-fi indie rock, but during the pandemic, she had a realization: She wasn’t depressed anymore. “I think it’s cool to have art that reflects where you are in the moment,” she said then. She’d also been revisiting old favorites like Gram Parsons and Neil Young, planting seeds for the folksy new sound that would take hold on 2021’s Big Fall. Florry’s second proper album, The Holey Bible, posits an alternative to nihilistic indifference: What if instead of dispassionately accepting disaster as inevitable, we use the bitter end as a motivator to make the best of what time is left?

Though Florry’s sound has always had a homespun quality, on The Holey Bible, Medosch and her backing band—complete with 12-string guitar, fiddle, mandolin, harmonica, and plenty of pedal steel—push further toward old-school country.

Not my scene, but it could be fun.

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Kurt Vile and the Violators / Schoolly D / Emily Robb (Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, October 9, 2023) Philly Music Fest Night 1 [DID NOT ATTEND]

Posted in Ardmore Music Hall, Ardmore, PA, Emily Robb, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Philly Music Fest, Schoolly D on October 9, 2023| Leave a Comment »

[DID NOT ATTEND: October 9, 2023] Kurt Vile and the Violators / Schoolly D / Emily Robb

I really respect Philly Music Fest.  If I lived closer to the venues and didn’t have other things (like a family), I’d love to go to every night.  But I don’t.  Lat year I didn’t go to any.  This year I’m going to one show.

But it’s not this one.

I’ve seen Kurt Vile a few times and he always plays a good show.  But my wife and I had seen him fairly recently, so there was n need to see him again so soon.

Schoolly D is an old-school rapper who i kind of thought I knew, but I guess I mostly know him from Primus.

We hopped into my dart and headed for the nightbreak to see a man they called Schooly D. [–Harold of the Rocks]

I don’t know what he’s like these days, but I imagine him on stage with a Casio drum machine freestyling.  His latest album came out in 2010 and it was more mixing and sampling than lyrics.

Emily Robb plays an electric guitar (and is referred to as a guitar abuser).  She has a solo album out that is an incredible amount of fuzzy guitar noise.

No vocals, no artifice, barely even a drum. It’s a totally fried, mutant offering that’ll entice the twisted seekers– a sustained, distilled meditation on the unabashed revved up freedom of rock.

This night actually sounds kind of unpleasant.

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Kurt Vile and the Violators (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2022)

Posted in Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Natural Information Society, Philadelphia, PA, The War on Drugs, Union Transfer on June 4, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2022] Kurt Vile & The Violators

Since the last time I saw Kurt Vile (2018), S. has become a huge fan of Kurt and his music.  So when he announced he was touring, and would be ending his run in his home town, of course we grabbed tickets.

I had seen Kurt playing in New Jersey four years ago and he was a delight.  He switches instruments almost every song.  he doesn’t talk a lot, but he seems to be having a really good time and is happy that we’re there with him.

It was amazing that he played almost none of the same songs tonight that he did four years ago.  True he had two new albums to showcase since that time, but even the older cuts were mixed up (except for his biggest hit which I couldn’t imagine him not playing and “Waking on a Pretty Day”).

Kurt is pretty much exactly what you get on record–his delivery is pretty much the same, his guitar playing is the same.  he comes across as the most natural performer you’ve ever seen.  Like he literally just walked in and started playing.

I am a huge fan of some of Kurt’s songs.  I love “Loading Zones” and could listen to him play that song for ages.  (more…)

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Natural Information Society (Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA, June 3, 2022) [KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS]

Posted in Full show video, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Natural Information Society, Philadelphia, PA, Union Transfer on June 3, 2022| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 3, 2022] Natural Information Society

Since the last time I saw Kurt Vile (2018), S. has become a huge fan of Kurt and his music.

So when he announced a tour that would be culminating at Union Transfer, obviously we were going to go.  I’m a fan of the opener Chastity Belt, but I was bummed that they weren’t opening our leg of the tour.  So that left two possibilities for us: Sun Ra Arkestra or Natural Information Society.

I had seen Sun Ra Arkestra and enjoyed their wild free jazz craziness.  I knew S. wouldn’t like them.  But it turned out that the question was moot because I was taking my daughter to another show on the Sun Ra night anyhow.  So Natural Information Society it was.

I had never heard of them and had no idea what they were like. (more…)

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Kurt Vile and the Violators (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, June 16, 2018)

Posted in Courtney Barnett, Jen Cloher, Jersey City, NJ, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, White Eagle Hall on June 16, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 16, 2018] Kurt Vile & The Violators

I have seen Kurt Vile three times.  Once with Courtney Barnett on their Lotta Sea Lice tour.  Then when Jen Cloher played Philly and Courtney Barnett was on lead guitar, Kurt was in the audience.  I was surprised they didn’t pull him up to play.  Then when Courtney came back through Philly to tour her new album, Kurt came out for an encore.

But I wanted to see him play his own songs.  So I was happy when he announced a summer tour with The violators.

I arrived at White Eagle Hall fairly early (the last time Sarah and I went there, the line was really long), so I wound up rather close to the stage, which meant I was able to watch Kurt do his thing (and the sound was still good, too). (more…)

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Connections (White Eagle Hall, Jersey City, NJ, June 16, 2018) [KURT VILE AND THE VIOLATORS]

Posted in Connections, Jersey City, NJ, Kurt Vile, Kurt Vile and the Violators, Purling Hiss, White Eagle Hall on June 16, 2018| Leave a Comment »

[ATTENDED: June 16, 2018] Connections

A friend of mine on Instagram posted a picture of Purling Hiss who had opened for Kurt Vile in Asbury Park.  I was considering going there to see him, but instead I decided to see him at White Eagle Hall in Jersey City.

The person who saw the Asbury show said that Connections was a stellar band to have as an opening act.  So I was pretty excited to see them.

But aside from the bassist wearing a Rush shirt, and the lead singer wearing a great shirt with an airbrushed Jigglypuff and the caption #RESIST, Connections didn’t do much for me.  (more…)

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