Monday, April 07, 2014

Kurt Vile, Pall Jenkins, live @ Gagarin 205 (Athens, April 1st, 2014)

Kurt Vile, unplugged @ Gagarin 205

Photos and video from Kurt Vile’s first ever live performance in Athens, Greece, at the Gagarin 205 club. His solo, acoustic set was preceded by a solo performance by Black Heart Procession leader, Pall Jenkins.

Pall Jenkins, live @ Gagarin 205
As you can see in the photos, the intimate nature of this show demanded the transformation of the club’s stage to a cozy, small living room, where our guests relaxed with a drink and shared their songs with just the bare essentials: an electric guitar, a musical saw and occasional, skeletal electronic rhythms for Pall Jenkins’ set, acoustic guitar and banjo for Kurt Vile’s set.


The night closed with the two of them on stage together for one of Kurt’s songs where Pall added notes with his trusted musical saw.

Kurt Vile and Pall Jenkins, performing "Baby's Arms" in Athens
Given that the best recorded work of both men relies on electricity to bolster the tender melodies at the heart of their songs, the unplugged nature of this show left us missing the full sound of a rock band. Perhaps, if their on-stage collaboration had extended beyond just one song, the results would have been much more exciting. Let’s hope that the good attendance of this show will encourage promoters to call back both musicians, this time along with their regular bands, for the fully charged, electric rock experience that we didn’t get on this occasion.


Kurt Vile’s set included the following songs: Red Apples, Smoke Ring for My Halo, Ghost Town, Dead Alive, Laughing Stock, Goldtone, Don't Bite, Peeping Tomboy, He's Alright, Wakin’ on a Pretty Day, Baby's Arms, Nicotine Blues.

Up and coming, indie rock act Egg Hell provided the only electric noise of the evening with an energetic set comprising of songs from their debut album "Once Part Of A Whole Ship" (see also here), one of the best releases of 2014 so far of the local rock scene.

Kurt Vile - Ghost Town (live in Athens)

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