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Jen Cray
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Kurt Vile & the Violators at the Beacham
THIS LITTLE UNDERGROUND
Kurt Vile & the Violators and the Sadies, The Beacham, March 12
Befitting his continuing climb into the indie stratosphere,
Kurt Vile this time commanded a much bigger venue than his last Orlando show a couple years ago.
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Jen Cray
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Kurt Vile & the Violators at the Beacham
In the pursuit of his sometimes rambling muse, the current reigning
king of left-bent rock has really dialed in his signature in recent years. The golden haze and daze of his stoned sound mine a sweet spot between classic and oblique. It's now a thing of atmospheric richness and slanted warmth that Vile has calibrated to woozy perfection. And live, he and the Violators weave some warped elegance.
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Jen Cray
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Kurt Vile & the Violators at the Beacham
click to enlarge
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Jen Cray
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Kurt Vile & the Violators at the Beacham
Opening were Canadian indie heroes the
Sadies, who added major depth and distinction to this bill. This was a pretty big deal because they play here far less often than Vile (love you for that, Kurt!). In fact, after about 25 years in the game, this was finally their
Orlando debut. So, yeah, momentous.
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Jen Cray
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The Sadies at the Beacham
The Sadies are one of the most evocative and dimensional bands in the indie roots scene. Though their primary masts of country & western and early rock & roll make an undeniably defining framework, their music rides with remarkable depth. It can rev hard with
garage octane or ring over the hills with the sonorousness and cinema of
surf and
Spaghetti Western sounds, sometimes all in one song.
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Jen Cray
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The Sadies at the Beacham
click to enlarge
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Jen Cray
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The Sadies at the Beacham
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Jen Cray
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The Sadies at the Beacham
Live, their
rock & roll streak burns bright even amid all the traditional twang. And as a unit, their playing is as locked as it is lusty, with tons of skill and horsepower between them but all in collective service of the music. For their finale, Vile himself came out to join the band for "It's Easy (Like Walking)," the song he also sang on record for their last album, 2017's
Northern Passages.
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Jen Cray
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The Sadies at the Beacham
Considering their pedigree, it was nice to see that the Sadies were given a respectful
50-minute set instead of the average opening 30. And since they definitely drew their own ample applause, maybe we'll see the guys again before their golden anniversary tour.
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Jen Cray
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The Sadies at the Beacham
Follow Bao on Twitter (@baolehuu)
Email Bao: baolehuu@orlandoweekly.com
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