Psychedelic rock artist Kurt Vile performed a sold-out show at The Social in Orlando last Saturday night.
Following a day of rain and a cold front, music lovers crowded into the downtown concert venue The Social to see a performance by Kurt Vile and opener Beach Fossils.
The show began with a performance by VBA. VBA is a band fronted by the drummer for Kurt Vile, Vince Nudo. The trio played a set of fuzzy garage rock with driving bass lines, ambient guitar, smashing drums, and passionate vocals. The tone sounded like a mix of garage rock and 80s Sonic Youth. They’re brief but intense performance got the crowd energized for the show to follow.
Beach Fossils, an indie rock band, co-headlining the show with Kurt Vile performed second. They’re forty minute set was a fast-paced rush of treble rich guitar hooks and one-two-punch melodies. The songs got the crowd moving with couples dancing in the pit, where people stood inches apart from one another to see the band. During the performance of the title track off the band’s second LP, “Clash the Truth”, the singer made his way into the crowd and began crawling on his knees as he repeated the songs last lyrics “nothing real, nothing true.” The power packed set ended with the singer going on a gut-spilling diatribe as the rest of the band played with such intensity that the singer’s words were difficult to distinguish. From what I was able to hear he was telling the audience of his own struggles to get where he is and that they should follow their dreams. Only the singer knows what he said.
Kurt Vile closed the night coming onstage before an anxious and excited full house. His long dark hair continuously fell into his face as he pressed his lips directly onto the microphone and slurred out his lyrics over his beautifully composed riffs and blues solos. Despite seeming a bit ‘off’ during the show Vile didn’t disappoint the crowd as he tore through some of his most well known songs with blistering improvised guitar solos and jams that lasted minutes longer than the tracks typically do on album. Vile left the stage with a wave and a smile as the audience continued to applaud the rocking performance.
Included below is the title track from Kurt Vile’s most recent LP and a performance on KEXP: