Kurt Vile

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May 2, 2013 | 1:13 PM | By

All Songs Considered premieres new Kurt Vile video for “Never Run Away” (playing Union Transfer on 5/18)

KurtVile

Kurt Vile roams the empty streets of Philadelphia in his new video for “Never Run Away” off of his sublime Wakin’ On a Pretty Daze LP and premiered by NPR’s All Songs Considered.  Clad in white and surrounded by white busses, Vile is depicted in a series of shots inspired by classic 70s album covers and videos.  From directing duo HARRYS:

Kurt’s music, to us, has carried on the lineage established by musicians like Neil Young, Harry Nilsson or Tom Petty…. We wanted to make a video inspired by some of our favorite iconic album art by these sorts of artists. Neil Young, for example, has some classic videos and his album covers, like On the Beach, served as a jumping off point for us. We wanted Kurt’s personality and sense of humor to come through in the video and shot it on 35mm to give it a natural and classic feel.

Kurt and his band The Violators will be playing a hometown show at Union Transfer on May 18th with Steve Gunn and Angel Olsen.  Tickets and information can be found here.  Watch the new video for “Never Run Away” below and listen back to Kurt Vile’s Free at Noon performance from Friday, April 26th here.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, News, Scene, Kurt Vile, Union Transfer
April 26, 2013 | 2:44 PM | By

Free At Noon recap: Kurt Vile and the Violators (photos, audio from the show)


Hometown hero Kurt Vile and the Violators rocked a sold out crowd at today’s Free at Noon concert. Vile recently released his fifth studio album Walkin In A Pretty Daze on April 9th and he and his band, The Violators, are playing a headlining show at Union Transfer on May 18th. Go here for tickets to the show. Check out the photo gallery above, the set list below and click here to listen to show. Photos by Rachel Del Sordo and John Bartol.

Kurt Vile and The Violators
Free At Noon 4/26/13 Set list
1. Wakin’ On A Pretty Day
2. KV Crimes
3. Girl Called Alex
4. Jesus Fever
5. Shame Chamber
6. Ghost Town
7. Snowflakes Are Dancing

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Events, Recordings, Free At Noon, Kurt Vile
April 19, 2013 | 2:25 PM | By

Kurt Vile & The Violators playing next week’s Free at Noon at World Cafe Live

Kurt Vile-Walkin On A Pretty Daze

With what is arguably his best release only a few weeks old, local musician Kurt Vile brings his Violators to World Cafe Live next Friday for a Free at Noon performance.  Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze has catapulted the psych rock / singer-songwriter to national attention, receiving high marks from Pitchfork, Consequence of Sound and Spin (not to mention all of the buzz his music video / commercial for “Never Run Away” created).  Sign up for the Free at Noon on XPN’s website here - tickets are free but space is limited.  Below, watch Vile perform a solo / acoustic take of “Wakin On A Pretty Day” for Radio K.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Free At Noon, Kurt Vile, World Cafe Live
April 10, 2013 | 11:59 AM | By

Are these the 10 best Kurt Vile songs?

Kurt Vile-Walkin On A Pretty DazeThis week hometown hero Kurt Vile recently released his excellent new album, Wakin On A Pretty Daze. With a solid body of work credited to his resume (five studio albums and several EP’s), his catalogue is certainly worthy of some deep track analysis, which is what music writer Caitlin White has done quite nicely in The 10 Best Kurt Vile Songs for the music site Pigeons And Planes. White has chosen songs like “Space Forklift,” “Puppet To The Man,” “Freeway,” “I Wanetd Everything,” and one of our most favorite Vile songs, “Baby’s Arms.” What’s number one on her list? You’ll have to go here to find out. Did she get the list right? What Kurt Vile song do you think should be in the Top 10 Best Kurt Vile songs? Let us know in the comments below. Vile heads to Coachella this weekend and plays Union Transfer on Saturday, May 18th.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Recordings, Kurt Vile
April 5, 2013 | 2:08 PM | By

Steve Gunn announces details for Time Off release (playing AKA Music tonight, Union Transfer on 5/18)

Steve-in-studioSteve Gunn, the Lansdowne, PA native who has since become a mainstay of the Brooklyn experimental / singer-songwriter scene, will release his Paradise of Bachelors debut on June 18th.  Titled Time Off the album follows-up Gunn’s 2009 solo full-length Boerum Palace (Three Lobed Recordings) and joins the musician with longtime collaborators and friends John Truscinski (drums) and Justin Tripp (bass, formerly of local indie rock band Aspera).  From PoB:

Time Off deploys Gunn’s signature virtuosic guitar style, framed by the most commanding vocal performances he has yet committed to tape. These six songs showcase his oblique character sketches and story-songs about friends, acquaintances, and denizens of his Brooklyn neighborhood.

In addition to the impending release, PoB has announced Gunn’s new role as a Violator for the upcoming Kurt Vile & The Violators tour, for which Gunn will also be an opener.  Tickets and information for that May 18th show at Union Transfer with Angel Olsen can be found here.  Tonight, Steve Gunn will play a set at AKA Music in Old City for the record store’s First Friday event, presented by Philebrity.  More information for the free show can be found on the Facebook event page here.  Below, watch Steve Gunn perform “Old Strange” at the Kensington Picnic and then check out Time Off‘s track list.

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FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, News, Scene, A.K.A. Music, Angel Olsen, Kurt Vile, Steve Gunn, Union Transfer
April 4, 2013 | 9:18 AM | By

The Week So Far: 12 must-read stories on The Key (incl. Patty Griffin, Maitland and Reef The Lost Cauze) )

MIsModern Inventors performed five mostly-unreleased songs for a Key Studio Session, filmed by Out of Town Films [link]

PhilaMOCA programmer Eric Bresler previews Cinedelphia‘s Tuesday Tune-Out series for April [link]

Meet Dante Bucci, the local musician who kicked-off WXPN’s Philly Local Busker Series at The Porch at 30th Street Station this week [link]

Watch local folk duo Maitland perform “Embers” in advance of their Friday, April 5th show at The Trocadero balcony [link]

Mayer Hawthorne‘s new song “Designer Drug” was Tuesday’s My Morning Download [link]

JUMP Magazine shared their recap and photos of Plow United‘s Saturday night show at The Barbary [link]

Stream and download Burn the Wish from local duo Great Red Spots, recorded at West Philly DIY space Sprinkle Kingdom [link]

Reed The Lost Cauze is back with a debut podcast/free download called REEF RADIO, [link]

Unlocked digs into Restorations‘ LP2 ahead of their record release show this Friday [link]

Take a listen to Wrong World‘s “See These Streets” and see them open for Bleeding Rainbow and The Cave Singers on Thursday [link]

Patty Griffin was spotlighted on XPN’s Gotta Hear Song of the Week with “Ohio,” featuring Robert Plant [link]

NPR Music’s First Listen is streaming Kurt Vile‘s Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze before the album’s official release next week [link]

FILED UNDER: Artist Profiles, Artists, Concert Photos + Videos, Concert Previews, Concert Reviews, Downloads, Events, News, Recordings, Scene, Cinedelphia, Dante Bucci, Great Red Spots, Kurt Vile, Maitland, Mayer Hawthorne, Modern Inventors, Patty Griffin, Plow United, Reef The Lost Cauze, Restorations, Wrong World
April 1, 2013 | 7:05 AM | By

Listen to Kurt Vile’s Wakin’ On A Pretty Daze via NPR Music (playing Union Transfer 5/18)

DazePhilly’s Kurt Vile will release his expansive, ambitious new double-LP Wakin’ on a Pretty Daze next Tuesday, April 9th via Matador Records. The record is a heady, eclectic mix of long-form guitar and synthesizer jams and straight-ahead rockers, and sees the local musician at the top of his game. The album is streaming this week in its entirety via NPR Music’s First Listen series, and NPR’s Otis Hart had this to say:

It’s not often that you’re left wanting more from a nine-and-a-half-minute song, but it’s actually a little sad when “Wakin on a Pretty Day” finally winds down. And you won’t hear a better eight-minute song all year than “Too Hard,” a shambling tearjerker that sounds like a promise to love and protect his infant daughters.

No matter the length, every song on Wakin on a Pretty Daze feels like a ride on one of those moving walkways, when for a few wonderful moments life passes you by just a little slower than normal.

Listen to Wakin’ on a Pretty Daze in its entirety here. Kurt Vile and the Violators play Union Transfer on May 18th; tickets and information are available here. Below, watch Vile’s promo video for “Never Run Away” starring his daughter.

FILED UNDER: Artists, Concert Previews, Events, Recordings, Kurt Vile, NPR Music First Listen, Union Transfer