Van Fossan also said he was feeling the vibe of The Places.
"They have that do-it-yourself kind of art collective vibe," Van Fossan said. "There's all kinds of weird noises, weird instrumentation."
Pete Stewart, creeping weeds vocalist and lead guitarist, said he's got no interest in pinning down his band's music with a word. "As far as our actual sound, it goes all over the map," Stewart said. "I guess it's basically what you would describe as indie."
Though creeping weeds has performed together for only a short time, Stewart said he's felt the band's success growing since its inception.
"In Philly, we've been doing really well," Stewart said. "We're actually trying to space out the gigs for our own sake."
Amy Annelle, head honcho of the ever-changing Places, described her band's metamorphic vibe.
"The Places is kind of like a home planet for the songs that I write," Annelle said. "My songs are my songs, but The Places, that's where the core is."
Annelle, who's spent the summer crossing the country with The Places and finishing up her fifth album, packs the band with a rotating cast of musicians, making none of the band's gigs the same as the one before. Her music is so unique that Annelle has even dubbed her own genre: creature-country.
" 'Creature-country' is music that's allowing us to be our true animal selves," Annelle said. "It's not necessarily drawing from a particular idiom."
Annelle's nomadic spirit isn't just limited to her music.
"I pulled up my anchor when we left on this tour, so I don't have a home right now," Annelle said. "I try to find my home in moments, in shows."
Van Fossan said that the rest of The Places, in whatever form they're currently taking, always have one thing going for them: excellent musicianship. "When it's time for her to take it out on the road, she grabs a bunch of musicians," Van Fossan said. "Well-respected ones, too, not just some yahoos on the street."
Annelle said the ever-changing Places roster, often featuring sounds as varied as field recordings and suitcase percussion, is put in whatever place to serve her tunes.
"It's sort of like the song is the blueprint," Annelle said. "And on stage, we build the structure around the song."
Though there's plenty left to chance during a The Places performances, Annelle feels that the uncertainty of it all is, for her, the whole point. "I always put myself out there," Annelle said. "There's where interesting things happen."
