During Kurt Vile’s recent tour through the southeastern part of the US, he stopped by JJ’s Bohemia in Chattanooga, TN. Bringing along Brooklyn rockers VBA and Beach Fossils, Vile packed the small venue to capacity – and then some. From VBA’s kinetic rock chug to Beach Fossils jingle-jangling rock, the stage was primed for Vile and the Violators to shake the walls, which they handily did. At one point, Vile stood alone on the stage with just a guitar in his hands and played through a few of his songs – the simplicity of his performance was remarkable. This came after the Violators had left the stage temporarily. They soon returned and stormed through the rest of their set, drawing on songs from across their discography. It was a night for ringing ears, jangling guitars, and collateral percussive damage.
Before the concert however, I sat down with Vile to talk about his first musical purchase, his transition to Matador Records, and why he prefers The Dead Milkmen to The Dead Kennedys (and we do talk about his own music, so don’t worry). He was staying the night onboard The Delta Queen, a riverboat/hotel docked on The Tennessee River bordering downtown Chattanooga, and we sat down there to talk. Check out my full interview with Kurt Vile below.
The deluxe edition of Kurt Vile’s latest album,Wakin On A Pretty Daze, is out now on Matador Records.
