Live Review: Kurt Vile & The Violators, Shining Bird

Sydney Festival provides the opportunity to see some of Sydney's more interesting spaces repurposed as a place of fun, and the Town Hall's subtle decking out as an homage to Amsterdam's famous Paradiso – the venue that triggered the decriminalisation of marijuana in Holland – was a treat. Locals Shining Bird scored an amazing spot at the start of the night, with their edgy pop tunes filling the large space as punters mingled in ever-increasing numbers, and managed to keep the crowd away from the lush open space smoking bar around the back of the Town Hall for the most part. FBi Radio's Adam Lewis kept the crowd swinging with his as-usual perfect song placement between acts.

It seemed like even Kurt Vile and his three-piece band, The Violators, were a little overwhelmed by the room as they came on stage, with a false start and a goofy apology suggesting that things were gonna be a little loose. As the rough edges in the mix got ironed out during the ten-minute opening track (and probably his most popular song) Wakin On A Pretty Day the band fell into step and the audience fell into a dreamy state of almost hypnotism. The ability for this epic to breeze by like a two-minute pop song is one of the things that makes Vile's music so compelling. The languid, drenched-in-honey delivery of the track (and most of the set) rendered things even dreamier than on record, with the band using minor instrumental changes to completely alter textures of songs. When Vile was left on stage in solo mode for a mid section including Feel My Pain and Peeping Tomboy his strength as a solo player was evident. The delicate finger-picking combined with his lazy drawl make an incredible combination, but the biggest contrast was yet to come when he was rejoined by The Violators for a roaring, feedback-soaked, saxophone-punctuated rendition of Freak Train. The lighting rig exploded into a battle of blue and red that mimicked the great battle of the Death Star before subsiding to highlight Vile, as his bandmates left and he finished the set in acoustic mode once again.