Music fans of all ages flocked to the 9:30 Club on Oct. 8. While some people outside the venue attempted to scalp tickets to the sold-out show, the inside of the 9:30 Club filled up as soon as doors opened.
The night began with a modest crowd and an opening set from guitarist Luke Roberts. Accompanied by two other bandmates, Roberts wooed his small crowd with original songs like “Unspotted Clothes,” which combined vibrations of psychedelic rock with simplistic folky guitar riffs. The early-bird audience was rewarded for its dedication and treated to a guest appearance by Kurt Vile, the main act, who made an early appearance to sing alongside the Roberts.
Though Vile was the main attraction of the night, second opener Waxahatchee stole more than her fair share of the spotlight. Lead singer Katie Crutchfield appeared on stage without the rest of her band for her first song. With only an electric guitar and her soothing, high pitch voice, Crutchfield performed an alternative rendition of the band’s song “La Loose.” Appearing by herself, Crutchfield turned the song into a completely different track, making the tune sound more like a melancholy and purposely broken ballad.
After her first song, Crutchfield invited the rest of her band up on stage, where they ripped into well-known songs such as “Air” and “Under a Rock” from their most recent album “Ivy Tripp.” As Waxahatchee played, the crowd began to grow, and fans of all ages came by the dozens into the venue.
After Waxahatchee’s energetic performance, the audience waited over 20 minutes for Vile and his band to finally take the stage. Once Vile took appeared, he wasted no time before beginning his jam session. Off of his new album “b’lieve i’m goin down…,” Vile performed such songs as “All in a Daze Work,” “I’m an Outlaw” and his most popular track off the album “Pretty Pimpin.”
While Vile’s appearance resembled many other indie musicians’ fashion look (ripped jeans, long hair and a flannel shirt), his voice and instrumentals added originally to his performance. With a wailing voice similar to Tom Petty’s and repetitive country-folk melodies comparable to the Grateful Dead, Vile impelled the audience to sway like waves back and forth.
For the second half of the performance, Vile played without his band, using only his voice and guitar to win over the audience.
Although 25-year-old Vile brought a large crowd of young people to the 9:30 Club, his music also resonated with middle-aged concertgoers, as 50-year-old men dressed in leather jackets made up a large percentage of the crowd.
After an hour filled of jam infused renditions of his songs, Vile left the audience relaxed and refueled with his Americana-driven performance.
