VETIVER, KELLEY STOLTZ, THE BATTLE OF LAND & SEA
(Roseland Grill, 8 NW 6th) Vetiver’s survival of the buzz wave from San Francisco’s freak-folk scene has finally yielded some much-deserved ballyhoo. The band’s upcoming album, Thing of the Past, an all-covers album, briskly braises Dead-esque jam leads in woven tapestries of murky folk rock. Vocalist Andy Cabic (also a member of Devendra Banhart’s band) is a natural frontman, all spastic and enchanting, and it comes through even when the band branches off to tap into others’ songs (material from Hawkwind, Bobby Charles, and Biff Rose is featured, among others). There’s a tenderness to even their most brazen tunes, and an undeniable ’70s vibe permeates almost every pore of their sound—not as a detriment, but as badge of authenticity. Expect to laugh, cry, mourn, and sway in elation all in one set—that’s a pretty potent concoction. RYAN J. PRADO

MP3:
Vetiver - Been So Long

Photo by Alissa Anderson