Kurt Vile & The Violators Queen's Hall Edinburgh 21st June 2023 Review
Kurt Vile and The Violators were at the Queen’s Hall Edinburgh tonight, and fans of his music were obviously not missing the chance to hear him play at what was his first ever Edinburgh show.
I have to admit at this point in the review that Kurt Vile and his music have somehow completely bypassed me over the years, and this was my first exposure to his music. Back in the days of punk, this would have been a great name for any band, but as I found out tonight, Kurt and his music are musically and lyrically as far away from that genre as you can get, but still somehow that core essence of “punk” is there, and that essence of being individual and not conforming to what people expect you to do shines through in these songs.
I like taking adventures into the unknown with music, and tonight I found wonderful new music (to me anyhow) by a singer/songwriter who obviously loves words and knows how to use them to tell stories that create little frozen moments in time, little worlds that exist only for the time of the song and then wraps them in music that so often takes unexpected twists and turns. The end result is often a combination of diverse and multi-layered strands of ideas that somehow sound like they should always have been together. Kurt Vile is a very unique musician and story teller with an instinctive sensitivity to see and record in his music little moments of magic in this world that all too many of us don’t take the time to stop and witness.
Kurt Vile and his music may have been new to me, but obviously not to the many people who were in the Queen’s Hall tonight and as he came on stage to loud applause, he seemed to be genuinely humbled by the reception that was given to him. There is a lot of music out there from Kurt Vile, he has been continuously touring since 2008 and his latest studio album (9th) “Watch My Moves” was released in 2022.
Finding new artists and new music is, as I have said, always interesting for me, but one mark of someone special being on-stage with their music is how an audience reacts to songs and there were so many here that obviously meant so much to many people in the audience as they knew every word to them – “Walking on A Pretty Day” and “He’s Alright” being two such examples. Good to hear a John Prine song in the set – “How Lucky”.
Songs from the new album of course featured in this show and “Hey Like A Child”, “Flyin’ (Like A Fast Train” and “Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)” are just fine examples of a songwriter who really knows his craft.
With a constant change of guitars by Kurt to give every song exactly the sound that he wanted, a very sharp set from the Violators, magical songs and careful attention paid to the sound in the Queen’s Hall, the fans obviously got everything that they came out for tonight.
Opening this UK part of the tour for Kurt was Liverpool based band King Hannah. Originally a duo with Hannah Merrick and Craig White the band tonight was a four piece one, and like Kurt Vile their music has this very special look at the world with songs and lyrics that are carefully constructed, often multi-layered and surprisingly diverse in their styles.
King Hannah are obviously pursuing their own unique sound and “The Moods That I Get In” is just so different from what so many other bands are doing at the moment. At times King Hannah sound a little bit like a band out of time and they would have been perfectly at home in that very experimental melting pot of sounds that came out of the later 1960s psychedelic bands. Having said that though, there is a sharp edge to their sound that is very contemporary. A band most certainly to watch out for in the coming years.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
I have to admit at this point in the review that Kurt Vile and his music have somehow completely bypassed me over the years, and this was my first exposure to his music. Back in the days of punk, this would have been a great name for any band, but as I found out tonight, Kurt and his music are musically and lyrically as far away from that genre as you can get, but still somehow that core essence of “punk” is there, and that essence of being individual and not conforming to what people expect you to do shines through in these songs.
I like taking adventures into the unknown with music, and tonight I found wonderful new music (to me anyhow) by a singer/songwriter who obviously loves words and knows how to use them to tell stories that create little frozen moments in time, little worlds that exist only for the time of the song and then wraps them in music that so often takes unexpected twists and turns. The end result is often a combination of diverse and multi-layered strands of ideas that somehow sound like they should always have been together. Kurt Vile is a very unique musician and story teller with an instinctive sensitivity to see and record in his music little moments of magic in this world that all too many of us don’t take the time to stop and witness.
Kurt Vile and his music may have been new to me, but obviously not to the many people who were in the Queen’s Hall tonight and as he came on stage to loud applause, he seemed to be genuinely humbled by the reception that was given to him. There is a lot of music out there from Kurt Vile, he has been continuously touring since 2008 and his latest studio album (9th) “Watch My Moves” was released in 2022.
Finding new artists and new music is, as I have said, always interesting for me, but one mark of someone special being on-stage with their music is how an audience reacts to songs and there were so many here that obviously meant so much to many people in the audience as they knew every word to them – “Walking on A Pretty Day” and “He’s Alright” being two such examples. Good to hear a John Prine song in the set – “How Lucky”.
Songs from the new album of course featured in this show and “Hey Like A Child”, “Flyin’ (Like A Fast Train” and “Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)” are just fine examples of a songwriter who really knows his craft.
With a constant change of guitars by Kurt to give every song exactly the sound that he wanted, a very sharp set from the Violators, magical songs and careful attention paid to the sound in the Queen’s Hall, the fans obviously got everything that they came out for tonight.
Opening this UK part of the tour for Kurt was Liverpool based band King Hannah. Originally a duo with Hannah Merrick and Craig White the band tonight was a four piece one, and like Kurt Vile their music has this very special look at the world with songs and lyrics that are carefully constructed, often multi-layered and surprisingly diverse in their styles.
King Hannah are obviously pursuing their own unique sound and “The Moods That I Get In” is just so different from what so many other bands are doing at the moment. At times King Hannah sound a little bit like a band out of time and they would have been perfectly at home in that very experimental melting pot of sounds that came out of the later 1960s psychedelic bands. Having said that though, there is a sharp edge to their sound that is very contemporary. A band most certainly to watch out for in the coming years.
Review by Tom King © 2023
www.artsreviewsedinburgh.com
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