Love is all, from what I’ve heard

I am starting to worry that I’m becoming a bit repetitive with my blog content. However, it’s a grey and dreary Sunday, I’ve woken up with a gross sore throat and am still in my pyjamas. So there’s one thing for it: Kristian Mattson, aka. The Tallest Man on Earth.

I know I’ve blogged about him more than once – as one of the best gigs of 2011 and his new album – but he really is an artist that warrants this attention.

This is one of my favourite TMOE songs – live for Jools Holland.

 

Another Sunday song: Bon Iver‘s ‘Skinny Love’. Does it get better? It is literally achingly beautiful – by the end of this song, my chest feels heavier. Life feels more precious.

 

 

A worthy cover by Birdy. Surprisingly good. Testament to the strength of Justin Vernon‘s songwriting, or to Birdy’s performance?

 

What might have been lost.

Justin Vernon

Over 3 cold months in the Winter of 2006/07, Justin Vernon created For Emma, Forever Ago in the woods of Medford, Wisconsin. Having been through the breakup of a relationship and his band, he sought isolation in his father’s cabin, with nothing but some basic recording equipment. Listening to some of the lyrics on For Emma, it is not a great leap to suggest we may never have even heard of Vernon. During this dark period of his life he poured his pain into 9 stunning songs of heartache and loss, including the instant classic ‘Skinny Love’. For Emma was released early 2008, and received critical acclaim and the hearts of many music lovers around the world. It is easily in my Top 5 albums of all time.

Aside from the Blood Bank EP, fans were kept waiting for more from Bon Iver until 2011, when the self-titled Sophomore LP was released. To top For Emma would have been virtually impossible, but nonetheless Bon Iver was not disappointing in the least and showcased a somewhat brighter sound and more instrumentation than the former. ‘Calgary’ was the lush first single released off this album, and ‘Holocene’ is another favourite, with it’s comforting acoustic guitar riff and delicately layered harmonies. The lyrics also contain one of my favourite lines from any song: “and at once I knew I was not magnificent”. There is something in Vernon’s raw expression of emotion, maybe the self-doubt, that makes him a master of pulling at the heartstrings.

After the hype, the accolades, and the collaborations with Kanye West, many are hankering to see the man in action. Arguably, tickets to a Bon Iver show are the hottest tickets in town. With the rest of Bon Iver – the original four plus extras this time around – Justin Vernon spent the best part of Thursday evening (8th March 2012) on the stage of the Sidney Myer Music Bowl, entertaining thousands upon thousands of adoring fans, including my lucky self. As we all poured into the Music Bowl, the air was thick with anticipation. The crowd on the hill were sat on picnic rugs, drinking beers and praying it didn’t rain.

Bon Iver at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl

The opener ‘Perth’ was met with stunned silence. I would describe the atmosphere from that moment on as solemn – all eyes on the stage and the two big screens that showed Vernon and band in close-up. I spent the first half of the show in awe, choked up with the sheer enormity of the occasion. This was the man responsible for writing songs that have defined key moments in my life – songs that I have cried to, songs that I have fallen in love to, songs that I have broken up to.

The man himself was chatty, humble and surprisingly happy. He seemed as overwhelmed as I was at the turn-out, despite admitting he had kind of hoped the next tour might involve the Rod Laver Arena (I was outraged). He drew laughs from the crowd with randomly placed expletives in his onstage banter, insisting “it really is a great pleasure to have played in this fucking place”. He had the crowd eating out of the palms of his million-dollar hands – not least when he had us sing back to him during final song ‘Wolves (Part I and II)’.

The band were nothing short of phenomenal. Long gone are the days of solitude in the woods of Wisconsin, and on stage Vernon is joined by a huge entourage of friends playing everything from the triangle to violin to trombone. The familiar songs were broken up with long stretches of improvisation from the band, as were the bridges of some songs. A highlight was a violin solo that gave me spine-tingling goosebumps. The sounds the band achieved were other-worldly, and I swear I could hear the wailing roar of an elephant at one point.

As risky as it is to hold a concert outdoors, especially in a city as prone to temperamental weather as Melbourne, the backdrop of the night sky and the city skyline was exquisite. It set the scene for a night unlike any other and the atmosphere of a festival. The light show was outstanding, and meant that even those of us far back from the stage were involved in the spectacle.

Justin Vernon is something of an icon. His presence on stage is captivating, and during ‘Re: Stacks’ when he played alone with electric guitar I was reminded of the late Jeff Buckley in his Live A L’Olympia recording. Indeed, for a living artist Vernon has achieved almost the same level of cult status as Buckley. Despite his declaration during the show that “all of us on stage and all of us not on stage – we are Bon Iver”, it is fair to say that he is the genius behind the outfit. That said, the live show would not come together and make the impact it does without his exceptionally talented band.

I will leave you with an image that will stay with me forever from last night’s show: the image of Justin Vernon crouched down on stage mid-song, electric guitar in hand, turning knobs and pressing buttons on a synth-mixing desk. This is the ultimate musician. Presumably with a hand in every part of the production and the sound, Vernon’s Bon Iver is experimental, brave and innovative. In a sea of mediocrity and sameness, Justin Vernon has and will continue to push the boundaries of ‘indie’ and surprise us in the process.