REVIEW: Kurt Vile and The Violators @ The Royale 7/24

Photo Credit: Isabelle Greenberg

Review by Jonny Malyon

Kurt Vile is a singer-songwriter currently singing the praises of his hometown, Philadelphia, on tour with his band, The Violators. The album on display, “Philadelphia’s been good to me,” was released on May 29 of this year and pays homage to Vile’s upbringing and the place that he calls home. Fittingly, the backdrop displayed cartoon depictions of a Philly cheesesteak, Philadelphia’s city hall, and Philly-style pretzel floating in space surrounded by stars.

On stage, Vile and his guitar stood at the center, except for a few songs when he stepped back to plunk out a keyboard melody. Immediately behind him was Kyle Spence on drums. Jesse Trbovich was stage left on guitar, bass, and keys, Adam Langellotti was stage right on bass and keys, with Matthew Jugenheimer just to his left playing keys. The band mostly stuck to their parts, letting the groove into their bodies only occasionally. Spence’s bursts of activity were the most notable as they came in the form of rambunctious drum fills. Kurt Vile and The Violators played almost every song from Vile’s recent project, starting off with “Red Room Dub” and “Zoom 97.” 

Vile got the crowd moving with  “Hey Like a Child” from his 2022 album “(watch my moves).” The crowd energy was high during this early part of the set. Returning to “Philadelphia’s been good to me,” Vile continued with “Rock o’Stone” and “99 BPM.” As the hypnotic, laid back energy of the set settled in, the crowd swayed back and forth, their eyes glued to Vile and his intimate vocals.

Vile had the band leave his side and continued to dive deep into his catalog. Vile went on with a stripped performance of “Blackberry Song” from his 2009 album “Childish Prodigy.” The steady guitar of Vile’s solo performance illuminated the whole set.  Vile’s singing was non-traditional, emphatic on emotional delivery and less technique or pitch. Similarly, his guitar playing, while tackling impressively written pieces, was imprecise and raw. The emotion of the song was captured above all else. 

The band returned for another deep cut, “Girl Called Alex” off of Vile’s 2013 album “Wakin on a Pretty Daze.” They rejoined Vile seamlessly, cued into the paramount importance of a mellow energy for the song’s delivery. The supporting Violators stuck reliably to the music, allowing Vile to improvise and have fun on stage with his music. This imperfect, casual, rock and roll approach to live performance reached a peak on the standout track from the recent album, “Chance to Bleed.” The crowd jumped around and belted the chorus along with Vile. Vile let out an unrestrained brief scream in the middle of the song, which only increased in frequency as the show progressed.

With the crowd’s energy at an all time high, Vile grabbed a beer from next to his guitar amp, chugged it, and tossed the empty aluminum can toward the back of the stage. Despite his ability to write some of the best late-night drive songs of all time, Kurt Vile is a rocker through and through. While the set continued with “Like Exploding Stones,” also from “(watch my moves),” I suddenly felt like I was watching a group of dads play a show in a garage. While Vile’s songwriting transcends that of a garage band , the rawness, roughness, and intimacy of the performance felt familiar and authentic. 

 While the star of the show was Philadelphia, it was clear that Boston holds a special place in Vile’s heart. He announced that this was the penultimate night of their tour, and they were returning to Philly the next day. He introduced “You Don’t Know Cuz It’s My Life,” a song dedicated to Philly. Vile told the crowd that he used to live in Boston and reassured us that “Boston is home too,” and “it’s close enough.” This marked the return to a hypnotic energy, the crowd swayed along to “Pretty Pimpin,” “Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone),” and “Wakin on a Pretty Day.”

Vile and the Violators abruptly waved and exited the stage after this final song. The crowd continued to cheer; Vile really made the crowd work for it. Finally, they returned to the stage for an encore, starting with “Bassackwards” from the 2018 album “Bottle It In.” Partway through the song, the Boston rapper, Esoteric, of the hip-hop duo “7LES” bounded on stage and delivered a rapid-fire verse over the chill, groovy instrumental. While the crowd was stunned by the jarring transition, Esoteric was clearly so happy to be there, and Vile was smiling ear to ear. 

The show closed out with “99th song” and “Every Time I Look at You,” delivering a more conventional encore performance.  Vile introduced his band by name, making sure to let us all know that both Langellotti and Jugenheimer are Massachusetts natives, and thanking us and the venue for a wonderful night.