Hold Out

I was fortunate enough to see the amazing Sharon Van Etten last weekend, and meeting her after the show confirmed that she truly was a special soul. Grounded and humble, she was the most down-to-earth musician I've ever spoken with. Her set displayed her vulnerable, soft tracks and her gritty rock anthems, as she equal-parts delicately cooed and unabashedly thrashed on the floor with her electric guitar. To call her enigmatic would be selling her short. On "Give out," which she preformed after graciously accepting some praise from the audience and bantering back and forth in a quirky but unapologetic manner, I think she exceeds enigmatic and becomes revolutionary.

I have long admired Karen O, Courtney Love, and PJ Harvey, to name a few female rockers, who combine grace with strength in a beautiful way. Van Etten is the best of all these, but mostly her own everything, with a dash of Neil Young, a pinch of sarcasm, and the energy of a genuinely kind, powerful woman. Here she is with "Give out" on the Current:

I'm biting my lip
as confidence is speaking to me
I loosen my grip from my palm
and put it on your knee
In my way, I say:
"You're the reason why I'll move to the city, or
why I'll need to leave"
It's not because I always hold on
It might be I always hold out.