Vetiver

Gentle San Fran folkers Vetiver love to pay homage by way of the cover. When the dusty troupe rolled through the Tractor Tavern a while back, they made (my) dreams come true by bringing one of my favorite tracks in the free world to life: Southern crooner Bobby Charles' lazy-summer-day anti-anthem "I Must Be in a Good Place Now" (from his 1972 self-titled release, which features none other than the Band backing him up). Hats were also tipped to Canada's Great Speckled Bird and the Wizards, a Swedish psych band from the '70s, with a lively cover of "See You Tonight" that I have yet to track down. Unfortunately, the song doesn't make an appearance on Vetiver's recent release, Thing of the Past, a well-executed set of covers culled by leader Andy Cabic (a deliciously hazy version of "I Must Be in a Good Place Now," however, closes the record). The playlist reads more like a crate-digger's dream than any week's Billboard's Top 100, with renditions that range from Hawkwind's "Hurry On Sundown" and Loudon Wainwright III's "The Swimming Song" to Ian Matthews' "Road to Ronderlin" and Garland Jeffreys' "Lon Chaney." Cabic considers this effort his best to date, though their original works, while well-worn in the best kind of way, aren't too shabby either. With Kelley Stoltz and H Is for Hellgate. High Dive, 513 N. 36th St., 632-5656. 8 p.m. $10 adv./$12. AJA PECKNOLD
Sun., May 4, 2008