Vetiver at the Horseshoe Tavern; Friday May 15, 2009

Vetiver at the Horseshoe Tavern; Friday May 15, 2009
I loved this band's artwork at first sight. Their album 'Things From the Past' has a ridiculously cute girl holding a record from what looks to be her collection of vinyl records. It had a classic appeal to it that drew me in, for at very least another glance at the album.

I took a listen to their album 'Tight Knit' released earlier this year. Upon hearing the first track titled "Rolling Sea" I knew this album was beautiful. I purchased their self-titled album when i went to the states while back, it wasn't until i bought 'Tight Knit' that I actually listened to the self-titled. Each album is dynamic in their own way. 'Tight Knit' is straight foward, where as 'Vetiver' is loose and unkept. In between those two albums Vetiver released two cover albums, modestly titled 'Things From the Past'.

I caught one of the openers called The Papercuts. They were a little slow, but their sound was there. They used a great deal of synthesizer, which I'm not really sure if I like it or not. They seemed like the Beach House male counterpart. I however decided to sit this one out because their music was a bit slow for my likings. The Papercuts are from San Francisco.

Vetiver are also from San Francisco. I really love Vetiver. Frontman Andy Cabic is a gem, he's confident, but not too confident. He initially said to the crowd that they're going to start the show off slower. In anticipation of the crowds chagrin, Cabic said "You've gotta build up". Build up they did, however they also dropped down to. For the unaided listener Vetiver probably comes off sounding a little boring. Cabic's voice doesn't translate clear, especially over the loud music of the venue. I really like Cabic's lyrics, they're full of imagery and heart, it's a shame they didn't come out well over the music.

His band is tight (ha!). Their sound is great, Cabic too is actively involved in the music. Very importantly they have a keyboard player, who really brought their sound together, closure. Each member is tremendously talented which reflects in their pristine sound live. They play as a band perfectly, making it really easy to enjoy their live set.

Vetiver fuses what I love about many bands I enjoy listening to. Very notably, Fleet Foxes, for the harmonization and rootsy folk sound to their music. Vetiver also reminds me of Ben Kweller, stripped down and folk-country like. I also love how this band feeds off of other artists, on the self-titled album Cabic scooped up longtime friend and co-writer Devandra Banhart, Joanna Newsome and Mazzy Star's Hope Sandorval.

My favourite bit of the set was hearing the tune "Rolling Sea" and the commercial boosted "Everyday". I think I enjoyed them so much because I was super familiar with them. I really dug a cover he did of a Towns Van Zandt tune. Cabic makes the cover tunes his own, to the extent you don't know whether their his songs or songs of other people. At the tail end of their set they played the tune "Wishing Well" which reminds me a bunch of Ben Kweller. It was apparently released on a 7" on Sub Pop for record store day. It had that cute appeal that Ben Kweller sports.

I had a lovely time, it seems as though they've played here at least twice before. Once at the Mod Club and the other time at the Drake. This band is a group I would love to have played at my high school dance.