I've been spending the whole week wishing it were already the weekend - the temperature in Nashville is promising to make an upward climb over the next few days, which means sunshine instead of snow on my two days off. Considering the fact that it's been in the balmy thirties lately, I'm 100% ready for spring.
And the things I'm looking forward to this weekend - not just the nice weather and nice weather-related outdoor activities - seem rather spring-like. The Oscars usually signal the end of winter, and Alice In Wonderland is out - what's more springy than tea parties and white rabbits? And to cap things off, tonight the weekend kicks off with a band that, now that I think about it, sounds an awful lot like a musical version of spring.
Vetiver are breezing through Nashville tonight to play Exit/In with Scout Niblett and Caitlin Rose, and it's a show I've been excited about since it was announced. Last year, the band's fourth full-length album, Tight Knit, made the list of my favorite releases of 2009, and finally brought my attention to a group that has been been endearing itself to music lovers since the release of their self-titled debut in 2004. Their association with Devendra Banhart found Vetiver dismissed by many (including me) as "freak folk" for years, but Tight Knit stands on its own two feet, and is enough to make anyone want to peruse the band's back catalog.
One of the highlights of last year's SXSW for me was the short set I saw Vetiver perform indoors at the Mohawk in Austin - the room was so completely packed, I was forced to stand on the other side of the bar, but poor vantage point aside, it was still one of the best performances I caught at the festival. It left me hoping and wishing for a Nashville date for the better part of a year, and tonight we finally get to see Vetiver here in town.
The show kicks off at 9 tonight; tickets are $10 at the door. Two songs to go with the sunshine:
"More of This" (from Tight Knit)
"Been So Long" (from To Find Me Gone)
