Vetiver & Richard Swift

As I’ve stated in previous reviews of bands that played at Modified, I love this tiny place. It is a very intimate setting, and they draw in top-notch entertainment. I was excited enough to be seeing Vetiver here, so imagine my surprise when I got to the door and found out that Richard Swift was going to be playing as well. I think they call these “two-for-ones.”

While there was a local opening act, Monique, that also shared the stage, I didn’t see enough of her to comment. The instrumentation included an electric violin, a pedal steel, and stand-up bass and the music had a Spanish gypsy colliding with bubblegum pop feel to it.

Richard Swift and his band took the stage at about 9:30. The place was packed, but being so small, it was easy to watch Richard and his mates switch deftly between electric guitar and the wide array of pianos and keyboards. He opened with a piano/bass driven song that made me bounce even as he sang, “We see the rain, you see the sunshine.” Richard moved to the guitar and played “Dressed Up For the Let Down,” which was slower but just as pretty. The entire band moved to keyboards for the next song which opened with a playful, plunky piano and the equally playful lyric, “the company you keep is keeping me asleep.”

The band moved back to their original positions for “The First Time” from the new album. With it’s jangly guitar and wash of synth, the music moved back into danceable territory only to shift into the blues for the next song. The band returned to their various keyboards while Richard played bar piano. The multiple keyboard lines allowed for some interesting layering. They followed with “Atlantic Ocean” and closed with a playful encore that found Richard singing falsetto over piano and (more) cow bell.

Still wow’d by Swift’s set, Vetiver would prove to be a little bit of a let down. Not in the sense of better and worse, but rather because Richard’s music was so happy and danceable, while Vetiver was much mellower. I was still amped up from the previous set, so I bounced around anyway.

Andy Cabic & Co. opened with “I Must Be In A Good Place Now,” it’s pleasant delivery echoing the title. The guitarist picked up an acoustic for a beautiful version of “Rolling Sea” that was dreamy, slow and very folksy. This was followed by a song that featured loping, spiraling guitar lines and shimmering keyboards and found the band lapsing into jamming.

With a triangle keeping time for “Sister,” the song was a solitary Sunday slice of Americana. “Maureen” wasn’t much different. “Everyday” had a bright, poppy feel to it, while “El Rio” went back to the slow and soulful, a transition they made multiple times through the night. The band then moved into a mostly instrumental piece that felt like driving at night on an empty highway. From that they moved into “City Lights,” which continued the lazy, slinky feeling music, and “I Know No Pardon,” which featured a harmonica.

The band showed their Deadhead side with “Wishing Well” and “Endless Highway.” The former leaning towards Dylan and the Dead while the latter was solidly honky-tonk rock. The main set ended with a hard, driving “Idle Ties” bang. Amusingly, they lead singer stated, “We’re going to step off the stage, you’re going to clap for an encore, then we’ll play a couple more songs.” They closed with “St. Joan” and an amazing cover of Townes Van Zandt’s “Standin’”

At the end of the evening, which fell around 11:30, the sell-out crowd went wild with gratitude as all of the evening’s musicians gave their all. Americana is often characterized by it’s almost countryish flavor, but American music, as proved by tonight’s acts is diverse. I moved from dancing, to swaying, to standing still in rapt attention throughout the course of the evening. The music, despite the differences in tempo remained the same throughout the evening: absolutely amazing.

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Tagged as: Americana, Tempe

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