ACL Review: Kurt Vile

“What’s Up Kooks,” read Kurt Vile’s shirt at the Austin Ventures stage Sunday. The mop-haired Philadelphian’s quirky sense of humor continued unabated throughout his hourlong set.

“That shit’s awesome,” he joked as soon as Chance the Rapper’s hip-hop began wafting over loudly from the Miller Lite stage.

Commencing the gig were two tunes from last month’s b’lieve i’m going down, the guitarist’s sixth album. Opener “Dust Bunnies” was trailed by the new LP’s toe-tapping single, “Pretty Pimpin.” Later, “Jesus Fever,” from 2011’s Smoke Ring For My Halo, and superb slow-stunner “Goldtone from 2013’s Wakin on a Pretty Daze were revisited as well.

“Hippie shit,” Vile grinned as he strapped on a banjo for “I’m an Outlaw.”

Generally speaking, the former War On Drugs shredder pieced together an unconventional set list for a festival, though it did reflect the folk delicacy of his new release. At times, Vile’s sluggish songs – however pretty – paired poorly with the late afternoon heat, still 90-plus degrees at 6pm. All the more reason for the songwriter to spruce his song selection accordingly.

“Fuck the sun!” he exclaimed, shielding his eyes.

Daze’s “KV Crimes” later added pep, as did b’lieve’s “Life Like This.” The 35-year-old stood solo for closer “Stand Inside,” arguably b’lieve’s finest track. Sound issues, however, vexed its delivery and left the Vile visibly peeved.

That cut the fragile, finger-picked love song short. He thanked the crowd and exited. Somehow, the anticlimactic end note proved a legitimate capstone to the performance.