Bon Iver live @ The Music Hall of Williamsburg
The positive press on Bon Iver – aka Justin Vernon – has not subsided since the initial buzz for his debut album, For Emma, Forever Ago, was released. Still touring the country, playing for sold out crowds everywhere he goes, Bon Iver seems to be, if anything, gaining momentum.
If the crowd response Wednesday night at The Music Hall of Williamsburg to Vernon’s new songs was any indication, the next effort will be received as rapturously as For Emma. On the second night of his two-night stand in NYC Vernon and co. played a set that was every bit as beautiful as his studio work.
The show revealed the duplicitous brand of folk Vernon is honing in on, that is at once atmospheric and mellow, but has a hidden energy, derived from the emotional vigor of his writing, that is not often seen in his contemporaries. The crowd fed off of that energy throughout the set, as Vernon rocked about as hard as any man can while seated on a stool (though, while I love music, I will not claim to be an aficionado on the history of stool sitting and/or rocking).
What was really impressive about the performance was that the beauty was there from the studio (or cabin as was the case with For Emma), but he struck that delicate balance wherein the music was as good as the studio recordings but was able to bring something special to the live performance, no one went home thinking they could have put on his record and sat in the living room to receive the same experience. “Creature Fear” seemed to bring this out in the band more than any other song. The mellow intro belied how hard the band dove into the bridge. Almost falling off his stool, with a beautiful vocal accompaniment from his band, Vernon transformed the pulsating bridge into a special performance that had the audience captured. The emotion of the entire band in these moments was palpable, creating an experience for the audience that was truly unique, the kind of performance that makes the audience acutely aware that this song is never going to sound exactly like this again. It was at this point that I realized Vernon has this figured out, the recordings, the ability to pull off anything he writes live, and the ability to draw a sold out crowd into his every articulation. There is an authenticity to his performance that is rarely seen in our era of fickle fans and blog bands, rising and falling with every positive post and subsequent backlash.
Playing one new track – a beat driven piano stomp that makes my mouth water for a new recording – and a Talk Talk cover, the setlist varied about as much as possible for an artist with one album to his credit without lurching into bar band territory.
The absolute highlight of the evening was the encore of “Skinny Love” which had the entire crowd singing along, as Vernon and the lads from Eau Claire brought out a breathtaking performance that was easily one of the best shows I have seen this year. The sound at the Music Hall was great, providing that fine touch of reverb that saturates For Emma, Forever Ago. Bon Iver will not be another blip on the blog radar, there is something genuine and beautiful taking place in this band, and the sold out crowds across the nation know it.
Photos of Bon Iver at the Music Hall of Williamsburg taken by Jonny Leather.
