Bon Iver, Bowerbirds - Wexner Center

Who knew Bon Iver could rock out?

Justin Vernon—the man behind the Bon Iver moniker—is known for the moody, ethereal songs he recorded during a winter spent secluded in a Wisconsin cabin. (If you’ve heard of Bon Iver, chances are you’ve heard the back story.) The woodsy retreat resulted in For Emma, Forever Ago, an album that will probably be perched atop more than a few Best of 2008 lists, including my own.

I knew Vernon had recruited a full band for the tour that stopped at the Wexner Center Sunday night, but I didn’t realize that band would be utilized to its full extent so often. There was a bassist borrowed from the openers, Bowerbirds, along with a drummer and guitarist, all of whom added backing vocals.

The band accompanied Vernon emphatically on familiar numbers like “Creature Fear” and “The Wolves (Act I and II),” filling the jam-packed performance space with powerful arrangements. It was wonderful.

The full-band mentality carried over to a couple of new tunes, too, both of which featured Vernon on the keys instead of guitar. “Babies” was a slow burner built around a repeated keyboard melody, dynamically adding more instruments as it developed. There was no verse, no chorus, just mood. Really lovely. “Blood Bank” was a rocker that found Vernon ditching his trademark falsetto for some deep, blue-eyed soul.

The new tunes proved Bon Iver is a different animal than the average flavor-of-the-month buzz band. And if the sold-out crowd wasn’t already an indication, the artistic yet accessible new songs suggested Bon Iver’s next release will increase his fan base far beyond a cult following.

It doesn’t hurt that Vernon is such an unassuming, affable guy. Oozing genuine humility, he couldn’t stop thanking the crowd for being so great. He was right, too—the audience was exceedingly respectful and attentive, as Wex crowds usually are.

The night had some hushed, spare moments, as well. The band left the stage for “re: Stacks” so that Vernon could convey the intimacy of the song on his own, and the selection was none the worse for it.

The set climaxed with a version of “The Wolves (Act I and II)” that had the entire crowd singing “What might have been lost” at the top of their lungs along with the band, followed by a stirring encore cover of Sarah Siskind’s “Lovin’s for Fools” with the band joined by Bowerbirds around a single mic.

For those who have yet to check out Bon Iver, it’s probably becoming annoying how many superlatives are thrown around about the bearded minstrel of the forest. But Vernon is one of those rare artists who actually live up to, and surpass, the hype.

I can’t think of many bands that would be fitting openers for Bon Iver, stylistically speaking, but Bowerbirds filled the role just fine. The trio played songs off its debut, Hymns for a Dark Horse (which was re-released this year on Dead Oceans), but it also played quite a bit of new material. It all sounded pretty similar, but fortunately Bowerbirds’ brand of folk doesn’t get tiresome.

Singer/guitarist Phil Moore used his full, slidey voice to accompany the casually creative strums of his nylon strings. Beth Tacular played accordion that was as awesome as her name, and multi-instrumentalist Mark Paulson handled bass notes on some sort of floor contraption, along with violin. Drum pieces were split among the three.

The trio’s harmonies were the best part of the set, but I welcomed the new song in which Tacular handled a verse on her own, just to spice things up. The song also had a quicker tempo, something I hope to see more of on the band’s next record.

Bon Iver's coming to town

August 3rd at the Wexner Center. Yessssss.

Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago

After Justin Vernon split from his bandmates in DeYarmond Edison, he had a lot to think about, and like so many artists before him, he chose the route of self-imposed solitude to work out his issues. In a Thoreau-esque move, Vernon retreated to his father’s remote cabin in his home state of Wisconsin and spent the winter there.

He did all the usual rustic, outdoorsy things during his time in the woods: chopped wood, hunted deer, ate deer, etc. But he also ended up writing and recording some songs under a new moniker: Bon Iver, which is purposefully misspelled French for “good winter.” After a while, Vernon realized he had made an album, and thus was born 2008’s best record yet, For Emma, Forever Ago. (He actually released the album on his own last year, but Jagjaguwar gave it a much-deserved wider distribution recently.)

It’s a story that seems a little too good to be true, something the PR folks cooked up to get some press. Similar back stories have helped sell albums before, too. When Ray LaMontagne’s debut came out, everyone knew that a.) He had worked in a shoe factory until he became inspired by a Stephen Stills song one morning, and b.) He lived in a self-built cabin with no electricity or running water.

But with Bon Iver, the album lives up to the story. Vernon has created a sound unlike any other singer/songwriter today, avoiding all of that genre’s pitfalls along the way. It starts with a voice and acoustic guitar, but the atmosphere created by everything in between is spooky, sorrowful and cathartic.

At the forefront of every song is Vernon’s layered falsetto. The thought of someone singing primarily in falsetto is probably a turn-off, but it’s used here with aplomb--nice and full, but sounding just brittle enough that you know it’s real, not a gimmick. On some songs, like popular single “Skinny Love,” that falsetto is affixed next to Vernon’s scraped, soulful cries.

All the accompanying gossamer noises feel like ever-present ghosts, as if the women Vernon sings about lingered insistently during the recording. “For Emma” adds another layer of depth with the addition of sparse horns. The instrumental “Team” is the only track that feels slightly out of place; the spring in its step just misses the ambience captured on the rest of the album.

Bon Iver’s lyrics are short snippets--quick, underexposed Polaroids of particular thoughts. And Vernon milks all he can out of a line with unusual and inspired phrasing. It all tells the story of a man surrounded only by the voice in his head, forced to wrestle his life to the ground. It’s unclear who wins the wrestling match, but from the sound of it, just the fact that a match occurred is cleansing enough. The last track, “re: stacks,” sums it up best when Vernon sings, “This is not the sound of a new man or crispy realization. It’s the sound of the unlocking and the lift away.”

mp3: Bon Iver - Skinny Love

Anticipation

The end-of-the-year lists have begun. The new issue of Paste ranks the top 50 albums of 2007, with The National's Boxer claiming the No. 1 spot. I've probably been annoying people all year with my National lauding, so it's good to see them get some well-deserved love.

I'm thinking I'll do a Top 20 of 2007 list, and undoubtedly Boxer will end up in the top five. But until then, there are a few releases I'm looking forward to in 2008, including albums from U2 (hopefully), My Bloody Valentine and The Mountain Goats. But I think I'm most looking forward to Bon Iver's debut on Jagjaguwar. I only have three tracks from Bon Iver (aka Justin Vernon), but I can't stop listening to them. Vernon doesn't really sound like Sam Beam, but fans of Iron & Wine will probably enjoy him nonetheless, mostly because it's acoustic, folkish and Vernon has a beard. Where Beam is whispery and delicate, Vernon uses ample amounts of falsetto and some soul to create achingly beautiful, semi-lo-fi love songs.

Bon Iver - Skinny Love
Bon Iver - For Emma, Forever Ago