Instrumental Success

Real Vocal String Quartet is composed of the usual suspects: a cellist, a violist and two violinists. But the similarities to other string ensembles stop right there. For starters, the all-female foursome sings while they string, which can’t be easy with an instrument wedged between your shoulder and jaw. They dance. They stomp. They improvise. And they shun obscure works, preferring instead to leap from West African rhythms to bluegrass to Afro-Brazilian jazz. Having recently been featured on Feist’s Metals, the San Francisco Bay Area band has earned a rep as the artist’s “secret weapon,” according to Paste mPlayer. Well, the word’s out now ... and the quartet will take a bow in Vergennes on Saturday.