Crack

The news that both Kurt Vile and Woods would be playing a joint gig at The Fleece must have aroused interest amongst those in Bristol with a taste for the more relevant American guitar bands. Kurt Vile has received endorsements from alt rock legends such as Sonic Youth and Dinosaur Jr, and his most recent record Smoke Ring For My Halo has been met with universal critical praise. Indie folk band Woods happen to be fronted by Jeremy Earl, the founder of Woodsists records, a pioneering lo-fi label which has propelled the careers of some very ‘now’ artists, including Kurt Vile’s.

On record, Woods capture that mood of bittersweet end-of-summer nostalgia. Their albums are packed with understated campfire anthems, which are delivered with endearingly shambolic guitar playing and Jeremy Earl’s haunting, high-pitched vocals.

When they arrive on stage at The Fleece, however, Woods kick off to a disappointingly lack-lustre start. The second track they play is Suffering Season, one of their finest tunes, yet (despite having an additional musician at hand) there’s no sign of the acoustic guitar, a pretty essential component of Woods sound which fills such tracks with a warm, fleshed out physicality.

Throughout the set, Earl gave off the impression there was places he’d rather be. He often kept back to the audience and when it was time to sing and therefore face the crowd, his eyes stayed glued to his feet. When Woods are playing their quieter material, this works fine – you’d expect such delicate songs to be performed in a timid manner. But when they’re running through their more psychedelic instrumental jams with Earl indulging in some lengthy guitar breaks, his demeanour just seems kind of sheepish.
Towards the end of their set it’s obvious that Woods have lost the audience. As the crowd begin to turn their backs on the band, the sound of loud chatter can be heard over the music.

When Kurt Vile and his shaggy haired group The Violators take to the stage, things perk up. The Violators look and sound every bit the sturdy touring band, a weathered bunch of musicians built for late night drinking sessions and endless days on the road.

Classic rock and Americana influences are embraced unashamedly by Kurt Vile. It’s due to his tasteful interpretation of these genres that he maintains a balance of sounding both rugged and tender at once. Certain elements of his music are very muscular, he knocks out some beefy guitar solos and the set includes riff heavy tunes like Puppet To The Man. On the other hand, a lot of Vile’s material is kind of pensive and slow paced, his introspective lyrics often exposing his vulnerabilities.

Kurt Vile and his band were no more mobile on stage than Woods. In fact, if anything, Vile was even more stationary, hugging his guitar like a life float, his shoulders arched and head bowed so that his hair obscured his face. However, Vile turned out to be a good showman, demonstrating courtesy towards the audience with some friendly stage banter. And by watching Vile and his band play, you realise how carefully considered the performance is musically, as each guitarist dextrously handles fiddly riffs which glue together perfectly.

In all fairness, Woods have been touring longer than Kurt Vile and the gig at The Fleece was the second last show of a three month international tour. Maybe Woods just wanted to go home and catch up with their sleep, but Kurt and his band seemed as if they could keep going for another six months.



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Words: David Reed

http://www.myspace.com/kurtvileofphilly

http://www.myspace.com/woodsfamilyband

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