Kurt Vile (Real Estate / Castlemusic)
The Great Hall. Tuesday, July 20, 2010.
Very rather empty as I make my way up into The Great Hall. I'm guessing that not everyone heading to this show had doubled-checked and found out that there was a third act added to the bill. I only noticed at the last minute myself, but I certainly hustled down when I saw Castlemusic listed to open things up.
A set from Castlemusic has generally meant, in my experience, a solo set from Jennifer Castle. Which is, let there be no doubt, good stuff. But still, I was excited as I came in to see Paul Mortimer setting up on stage. For this set she'd be joined by him as well as David Clarke — the rhythm section for beloved locals $100. But also, notably, Castle's bandmates in the ripping Deloro. Castle's music has always been rooted in the blues, but it usually has a fractured/folky approach to it. That's still here in this configuration, but it's getting kicked in the guts by the same raw, ragged approach witnessed at Deloro's shows.
Castle played the first one solo, then the band joined in behind her, Mortimer on guit and Clarke with a shaker duct-taped to one of his drum sticks, hitting the skins like he was suffering a sadness as he added backing vocals. A lot of the material is stuff that Castle's been playing for awhile now, newer than the material on her 2008 album You Can't Take Anyone, but not released yet.1 There was stuff I've heard her perform solo that had an awesome extra spark with the extra hands behind her2, like "Powers". The lamentful "For My Friends" got a powerful reading as well.
The last one of the set came with squealing feedback throughout from Mortimer, putting the capper on a really different side of Jennifer Castle than I've seen anywhere outside of those Deloro shows. An excellent six song set — I really hope we get to hear more from this trio.
Listen to a track from this set here.
Once again in bridesmaid-not-bride territory, this was the third time in a row hitting the city as an opening act for Real Estate. Though, as with their show with Woods earlier this year, they played what would probably be a full-length set for them regardless. Which works out well for those like myself who were at this show primarily to see the New Jersey-based quartet.
It's also nice to see that although the band has been busy on the road over the past year, there's still a fair amount of new material being worked into their sets, and the band is finding new ways to work with the chiming dual-guitar interplay (more flange than reverb, as I've been fond of saying in the past) between Martin Courtney and Mathew Mondanile.3 The band's appeal is as straightforward as making out in a suburban basement — not that that isn't complicated in its own way. And just like that, Real Estate's straightforward songs are complicated under the surface, something more apparent when they get a chance to be worked out live.
After leading off with "Beach Comber" (the first track on their worthy self-titled debut full-length from last year) they followed with one of the new songs, this one bringing more of an aggressive attack. That quality would be echoed in a quickly urgent version of "Green River" that rushed by in a minute and a half, zipping past in a way that the meandering album version doesn't.
But still, all the elements that made me a big fan of the band were in place here, even though the kickdrum had a bit of a damp rattle to it at first. The band is at their best when they're uncompressed, letting the songs breathe. That worked out well in the large open space of the Great Hall, which can sound a little hollow and echo-y for some kinds of music. Ending with the ace new one "All Out of Tune", I was glad to hear Real Estate again — I don't know if its just a prestige thing, but I'm still waiting for the band to make it back this way as proper headliners.
Listen to a track from this set here.
One of the benefits of the Great Hall is that it can be pleasantly full without feeling too crowded — a little elbow room is a definite plus. The room felt like that as Kurt Vile took the stage, guitars launching in a sludgy wave, grooving along for a couple minutes before Vile's largely unintelligible vocals joined in. To that extent, Dino Jr. came to mind a little off the bat. And, admittedly, I was casting around for points of comparison, as I didn't know too much about the night's headliner. Though his signing to Matador Records had caught my attention, the few songs that I'd heard hadn't done much for me, so I was waiting for the live exposure to really decide how I felt about him.
Singing and playing guitar, his touring band included a second guitarist, drums and harp, of all things. Although it looked cool/unusual on stage, the harp wasn't always that audible — when it wasn't drowned out, it mostly came through as little plinky keyboard-like sounds in the quieter bits. There was a definite stoner-rock vibe going on, as if there was a constant sludgy wah-wah under everything for large swaths of the set.
Three songs in on "Freak Train", the aural layout got shuffled up, which helped cut through the mush a bit. The drummer switched on the drum machine for this one, while Vile's lyrics burst out in a torrent. With the tinny/canned sounding rhythm tracks, it was almost as if he were making an effort to have his stage sound come out something like a semi-cruddy four-track recording.4
Vile didn't always have much to say between songs, sometimes preferring to just tune his guitar, which was held up with a length of cord rather than a strap. He was amusingly goofy in stoner-riffic way, randomly quoting from American Movie at one point. And of the slightly mushy mix early on, he said, "sorry about the vocals — just imagine 'em!". He also dedicated "He's Alright" to Jennifer Castle.
That was one of a series of songs played on acoustic guitar and featured a nice echo-y vibe. The set ended with the extended "Overnight Religion", and Vile's slurred vocalisations and occasional yelps brought to mind nothing more than Biz Markie belting out "Bennie and the Jets". It might have been a slightly short set for the more devoted fans in attendance, even with the slightly noodle-y "Dead Alive" tacked on for an encore.
Overall, the set was... fine, nothing great. It was entertaining in a vaguely-psychedelic slacker/stoner sort of way.5 From my perspective, I'd say this was yet another time that Real Estate outclassed the band they were opening for — when are they gonna get a local headlining show?6
Listen to a track from this set here.
1 I'm guessing that some of this might be on a split 12" vinyl release with Wyrd Visions, coming out soon on Blue Fog.
2 Some of that extra spark might have just been bad wiring, though: Castle saying between songs, "this is a very live microphone — I'm getting all sorts of shocks. I don't mind. I don't mind, necessarily."
3 Bassist Alex Bleeker, who helps carry the sound with un-fussy precision, must have felt lonely on the night, being the only four-stringer amongst the three bands on the bill.
4 This creates an interesting contrast with Real Estate, whose album sounds a bit thin and four-track-y, but are much more hi-fi when playing live.
5 Although there's been a lot of postive press for him, Vile apparently has his detractors. When I was double-checking his wikipedia entry, it lead off with this missive, which I am inclined to think was posted by an impostor: "i steal a whole bunch of crap from other bands, then add my own computer-generated music. im a total fake, and everybody should know". [sic throughout]
6 I missed Real Estate's most recent stop in town, where they were yet again the opening act, this time for Deerhunter at the Opera House. Does it count as a progression to be opening for other people at increasingly large venues?
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