Bon Iver at the Media Club in Vancouver
Tonight, Margarida and I saw Bon Iver (aka Justin Vernon) live at The Media Club, and the show was nothing short of fantastic. If you haven’t had the chance to hear For Emma, Forever Ago, go out and buy it. It is poetic, beautifully layered, and without a doubt one of the best albums of 2008 so far.
Phonetically translated from French as Good Winter, Bon Iver’s debut album comes from a winter of isolation in northwestern Wisconsin… “from the swirling breakup of his long time band, he escaped to the property and surrounded himself with simple work, quiet, and space. He lived there alone for three months, filling his days with wood splitting and other chores around the land. This special time slowly began feeding a bold, uninhibited new musical focus.” (Bon Iver’s bio)
The set list for tonight’s show looked something like this (I’m going off memory here):
- Flume
- Lump Sum
- Skinny Love
- Blindsided
- The Wolves
- Stacks
- Creature Fear
- For Emma (the titular track)
- Wisconsin
And, if you’re thinking of skipping the opening act the next time you attend a show, think again. Tonight, the opener was a no show, so Justin helped open for himself by getting behind the drum kit to play alongside Land of Talk’s Elizabeth Powell. Neither “had played together before,” and Justin commented that he was “fulfilling a life-long dream” being behind the drums. Suffice it to say, this impromptu duo set the stage for a fantastic live performance.
