u/IllAssist9390

Kurt Vile & The Violators, The Salt Shed, Chicago IL (June 26, 2026)

TL;DR: Kurt Vile & The Violators live @ The Salt Shed, Chicagp IL (June 26, 2026)

Alright kids, this post is part funny story, part PSA, and part PTSD. Possibly in equal measure.

As much as I try to stay hip to new sounds, there is just never enough time in this lifetime or the next. But I can tell you with exact certainty when I first heard Kurt Vile & (his fabulous) Violators. The band played at the 2014 version of Riot Fest in Chicago and they were freaking epically awesome. But what would really seal the deal would be an iconic performance of the sublime 'Pretty Pimpin' on Stephen Colbert's Late (great) Show in December of 2015 as the band was making the rounds promoting "b'lieve i'm goin down...". For that one, KV brought along J Mascis of Dinosaur Jr. to wreak havoc on the song's coda and what an amazing sight that was. Fun fact, last year KV and JM would cross paths in front of my very own eyes as they ended up in Minneapolis during the same stretch of time. And in fact, Dino Jr would invite KV on stage to play a song together: Dinosaur Jr & Kurt Vile, Minneapolis MN (July 30, 2025)

Now, the reason KV&TV were in the Twin Cities as Dino Jr were passing by was that they were touring with Pixies on their "let's play Bossanova front to back and then play a second show of all the rest" tour of 2025. My favorite Pixies album, and KV&TV as openers on both nights? The stuff dreams are made of. Sort of.

Now, the shows were at The Palace in St. Paul, a place that I have low-level seething rage against, if we're being honest. Unless you are at the very front, the sightlines are challenging. And even if you are in a proper vantage point for recording a show, the sound is real boomy and I have even been asked to put away my phone on at least a couple of occasions -- even for artists that are well known to be OK with taping. But you taketh what is giveth. The shows were at the Palace and that was that. For the night of Bossanova, I decided to sit in the balcony to try and get some sort of recording. And people fucking sucked. I get it, you are at a show and you wanna get a couple of brews in you -- then show up early and drink accordingly. But if every single person makes a beeline for drinks whenever the fuck is convenient, and they do, it is a constant stream of assholes parading and blocking the view without reprieve. You know how at hockey games you can only get back to your seat during a break in the action? this was most definitely NOT that. So that's why there is no footage of Night One at @Indie_Music_Travels and it breaks my goddamn heart; both bands were fire and the Bossanova lightshow was gorgeous, but not if it's being eclipsed by someone's rotund dumper every two seconds.

So fine, Bossanova thwarted and for night two, I had decided to just go the General Admission route. Things would have been OK-ish but I made the mistake of discovering that yes, you can indeed overdose on Imodium if Montezuma's Revenge is not your thing. Too much Imodium will wreck you harder than a blender full of double-strength margaritas. My St. Paul footage started off normal enough, lots of tall people to shoot around but whatever. Then it would turn into a surrealist art project because I was hanging onto a guard rail like it was the last lifeboat off the Titanic, trying not to die. So kids, no stupid Imodium challenges or other dumb shit like that. I was so effed up after the show that I could not drive for a couple of hours.

So when a KV&TV show is announced for The Palace, a place that still triggers major PTS, what do you do? I did what any reasonable person would do: I drove 13 hours to Chicago just to finally see a proper KV&TV show, that's what. The Salt Shed, that’s where this band belongs. KV&TV sound like a warm blanket for your brain. Those intricate guitar lines, those laid‑back vocals…it’s porch‑sitting music, fireflies doing their nightly lightshow for one another in search of romance/cannibalism, everything soft and perfect. And this band makes the kind of sounds that make the whole world slow down for a minute. I finally got to see them properly, and it was everything that I hoped it would be. Please enjoy...

#2026 #live #kurtvile

Official Website: https://kurtvile.com
Linktree (all socials): https://linktr.ee/kurtvile
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kurtvile
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/kurtvile
Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, Apple Music: via Linktree

*The setlist*
00:00:00 intro
00:00:49 (the band takes the stage)
00:01:53 Red Room Dub
00:05:18 Zoom 97
00:10:39 Hey Like a Child
00:16:27 Rock o’ Stone
00:22:46 99 BPM
00:28:39 Runner Ups
00:33:19 How Lucky
00:36:58 Girl Called Alex
00:43:39 Chance to Bleed
00:50:33 Like Exploding Stones
00:57:40 Mount Airy Hill (Way Gone)
01:03:04 Pretty Pimpin
01:09:48 Wakin on a Pretty Day
-- Encore --
01:20:26 Bassackwards
01:27:12 Avalanches of Snow
01:00:00 Cool Water (with Travis Good from The Sadies)
01:00:00 (end credits)

TL;DR: Chapterhouse live @ Slide Away Festival, Aragon Ballroom, Chicago IL (May 22, 2026)

Chapterhouse, Slide Away Festival, Aragon Ball Room, Chicago IL (May 22, 2026)

I’ve been listening to Chapterhouse since they first started making waves on this side of the pond in the early 90s. My copy of Whirlpool came from that old Records On Wheels on Rideau Street in Ottawa, Canada — on cassette, no less. I wore that thing out on bus rides, late nights, and whatever existential nonsense I was dealing with at the time. If you ever read these little dumb write-ups of mine, you might remember that I actually found my way into shoegaze through David Gedge of The Wedding Present — the man basically rewired my taste. One minute I’m listening to jangly indie, the next I’m neck‑deep in reverb, delay pedals, and vocals that sound like they’re drifting in from a dream. I’ve basically been chasing that sound ever since. I survived the 90s and all I got was tinnitus and a permanent soft spot for bands who sound like they’re playing from inside a jet engine.

But I never lived in a real concert hub with a steady traffic of my favorite bands coming through. So like many of the bands in my bucket list, Chapterhouse became one of those bands I assumed I’d never see: a name on a tape spine, a couple of tracks on mixtapes, a reminder of a scene that burned bright and then kind of vanished. Fun fact. My interest in the band was rekindled via a mix CD that my ex‑brother‑in‑law made when I first married into the family. The very first track was “Breather,” and I remember thinking, “Alright, I just might survive this clan after all.” Too bad I ended up getting along better with Jimmy than with my ex — but hey, at least the music stuck.

So when Songkick announces that Chapterhouse are playing in Chicago on May 22, 2026, you buy tickets, then make your way to the windy city by any means possible. Thirteen hour drive from Canada? No problem. So seeing them at the shoegazish Slide Away Festival at the Aragon Ballroom in 2026 felt like someone cracked open a time capsule just for the lifers. But honestly, what was even more exciting was seeing a lot of "youths" enjoying themselves to these sounds that have been so instrumental to my life for so goddamn long that my ear damage has ear damage.

Chapterhouse sounded incredible. Those swirling guitars, that warm low‑end, "Breather" still hits like a ton of bricks all these years later; Jimmy, I hope you are well. This upload is partly for anyone who couldn’t make it, and partly for the younger version of me who never thought this band would step on a stage again and that I would be there to witness it. If you were there, hope it brings you back. If you weren’t, crank it — May you all have that love affair with the beauty and the noise.

*The Setlist*

00:00 (intro)

00:33 (the band takes the stage)

01:01 Treasure

06:58 Breather

11:20 Falling Down

15:12 Autosleeper

20:08 Come Heaven

25:54 In My Arms

29:30 Mesmerise

33:51 Then We'll Rise

38:01 Pearl

43:22 Greater Power

46:48 Love Forever

53:07 (end credits)