Kurt Vile

The perception most people have of Philadelphia's Kurt Vile is green and leafy, considering his music's psychedelic noodling and his face being covered by elbow-length stoner curls. But on stage at the Great Hall, he came alive, delivering a mostly electric (in both senses of the word) set that nearly let his personality out of the bag. He still didn't have much to say, but he let his fingers do the work, wailing away on his guitar, while the Violators (a trio that consist of two Vile look-alikes) helped fill in his FM-ready classic rock jams. Vile's brand new album, Smoke Ring for My Halo, may seem to have escorted him to a new sonic terrain, but it's the newly enhanced live show that confirms he's no longer the cult favourite you can keep a secret.