Review: Kurt Vile, fine and sold out at Union Transfer

"He's a man of few words," a member of the sold-out crowd at Union Transfer mentioned to a friend.

Alas, a silhouetted Kurt Vile, not one to engage in much onstage banter, kept it cool and relaxed for a packed room Friday night. The Lansdowne-raised, Philadelphia-bred and -based songwriter, on the heels of his sixth release, B'lieve I'm Goin Down (out last month on Matador Records), returned for a hometown show, backing band the Violators in tow.

Bringing to life a large selection of B'lieve, Vile and Co. elicited an edginess, a rawness, that charmingly made the album's deep moments more tangible. He used only the downstage portion of the venue's performance space, and the room felt intimate, like sitting in on a garage jam session that ran the gamut from commanding full band powerhouses to introspective acoustic songs.

Thus, tunes so meticulously perfected on such recordings as "Dust Bunnies" and "Pretty Pimpin" were relayed with grit, and joyously so. Like the protagonist in "Pretty Pimpin" not recognizing his own mirrored reflection, the tunes existed like a fraternal twin, obviously not identical and possessing a unique personality.

With Vile leading the way on a multi-instrumental live journey - the band traded off on guitar, bass and keyboard duties, Vile swapping out guitars and banjo - the audience was treated to a meandering, intricate demonstration of the evolution of Kurt Vile from Philly songwriter to bona fide rock star and front man who can even put a fresh take on the banjo. Not Mumford and Sons-reminiscent, his banjo take on "I'm an Outlaw" played straight out of a modern western.

Not all high moments were B'lieve cuts. Showcasing the highs and highers of his career, Vile seared through perfect interpretations of "Jesus Fever," from 2011's Smoke Ring for My Halo, "KV Crimes" from Wakin on a Pretty Daze, and a spectacular pre-encore "Freak Train" off of 2009's Childish Prodigy.

Bright and blissful, "Freak Train" in all its stadium-rock glory served as a perfect foil to the encore's warm, stark "Wild Imagination" and "All in a Daze Work," the latter making its live premiere.

Though mellow and ethereal, Vile was as high as ever. A master guitar player, he produced finger picks and strums that brought the night to a simultaneous lull and climax. There comes a point in B'lieve I'm Goin Down's live debuts when you can't help but think the opposite. Vile isn't going down at all.