Philadelphia indie rocker Kurt Vile and his band the Violators shuffled through their Outside Lands set plying their droning, reverbed guitar sound and laid-back vocals. Reoccurring sound issues plagued the entire set, snapping the audience out of their trance every time there was a pause for adjustments.
Vile opened with "Jesus Fever" from 2011's Smoke Ring For My Halo. The Tom Petty influence was immediately apparent in the rhythm and riffs of the guitars. Vile's eerie singing voice was reminiscent of Lou Reed or Nick Drake.
Most of the sound problems seemed to have to do with the band's monitors and them not being able to hear themselves, which translated badly because it was not immediately apparent to the audience that something was wrong.
Towards the end, around "Peeping Tomboy," the sound issues seemed to be ironed out, so Vile finished on a high note, but with the tight schedule of a festival lineup there just wasn't time to make amends.
Vile opened with "Jesus Fever" from 2011's Smoke Ring For My Halo. The Tom Petty influence was immediately apparent in the rhythm and riffs of the guitars. Vile's eerie singing voice was reminiscent of Lou Reed or Nick Drake.
Most of the sound problems seemed to have to do with the band's monitors and them not being able to hear themselves, which translated badly because it was not immediately apparent to the audience that something was wrong.
Towards the end, around "Peeping Tomboy," the sound issues seemed to be ironed out, so Vile finished on a high note, but with the tight schedule of a festival lineup there just wasn't time to make amends.
