by Tim McMahan, Lazy-i.com

Did I tell you the story about how Kurt Vile saved my life?

It happened way back in 2014. I was covering the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, for The Reader. It had been a long day and an even longer night. Kurt Vile was my last stop, a performance at outdoor venue Cheer Up Charlie’s, located on Red River Road. It was your typical beautiful night in March in Austin and I know the fun would go all night, but it was midnight and I was a broken man, tired and ready to end it, but I wanted to see Vile, who was red hot at the time. I wasn’t sure I would even get into the venue (even with a media badge), but sure enough, come on in.

There seated on stage was Vile playing to a standing-room-only crowd, barely visible above the audience’s heads on the low-riser stage. I guess Kurt was tired, too. I didn’t realize it was going to be a solo acoustic gig, a format that really exposes how important a backing band is to Vile’s music. All you could hear was his mumbling free verse recited/sang over barely audible guitar and the constant rumble of the crowd. “mmmblmmmmbl… here’s another one.” Somewhat awful.

Halfway through the gig I said screw it and left to hike back to my hotel about a half-mile away through gigantic crowds of clearly loaded people just getting started. Late night at SXSW is like the scene at the end of The Ten Commandments where they’re having an orgie and making a golden calf while Moses is climbing the mountain barefoot to get the laws. Booze, drugs, loud music all around and thousands of wonked-out people flailing in the streets. 

The next morning I awoke to text messages from my family that said “Are you OK?”  

I rubbed sleep from my eyes. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m in Austin. What’s up?”

“Turn on your TV.”

At around 12:30 a.m. the previous night a crazed drunk driver drove onto Red River Road and into a crowd of people, killing two and injuring 23 more. It appeared to happen on the street right outside of Cheer Up Charlie’s. Had Kurt Vile not sucked that night, forcing me to leave before his set ended, I might have been in the crowd and got creamed. 

So, thank you, Kurt, for saving my life.

Anyway…

Kurt Vile plays tonight at The Admiral Theater with his band, The Violators. Based on his set list from his Louisville show Tuesday night, looks like he’ll be playing a lot of songs off his 2022 release, (watch my moves). Opening the show tonight at 8 p.m. is Julia Shapiro from the band Chastity Belt. $35, or $65 if you want to stand in the balcony.

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2022 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.