REVIEW | Bon Iver | Sydney Festival
January 25th 2009 14:00
Venue: City Recital Hall, Angel Place, Sydney
Date: 22nd January, 2009
Sydney Festival 2009
Bon Iver
Bon Iver are a four piece band, Justin Vernon, Mike Noyce, Sean Carey, Matthew McCaughan, who come from North-western Wisconsin, USA. The force behind the group is singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Justin Vernon who has been making heads turn by producing an album, Emma, forever Ago, with very little technology, a few instruments, and realizing an amazingly unique pastiche of sound. The moniker Bon Iver is an Anglicization and purposeful misspelling of the French greeting bon hiver which means good winter - a greeting he came across while watching Northern Exposure*.
These current songs developed out of the turmoil of the break-up of both Vernon’s long-term relationship and his band DeYarmond Edison(1). He stayed in his fathers' cabin, it was winter, and he was recuperating from liver disease. The songs were only meant to be demos to send to record companies to see if they would produce them but they received such an overwhelmingly agreeable response that Vernon decided to put together a band and start performing them. This was no easy task as the main song For Emma, Forever Ago, according to Vernon, needs a chorus of 80 - 500 people; he gets around this by having the audience sing and therefore the song takes on its' own life unique to the vibe of that room.(2)
The sound created by Bon Iver is unique. Vernon’s’ falsetto, which he uses on most songs and is a recent development in his repertoire, brings an angelic quality to the sound and is balanced out by the deeper harmonies of the three other musicians. Together their vocals are reminiscent of the complexities of country rock greats like the Amazing Rhythm Aces, Charlie Daniels Band and the like. Musically there is a mixture of instruments, guitars, organs, two drum kits, and bass guitar but they are not always used in a traditional manner. Quite often the instruments are used to give a percussive dissonant texture and at times the drum kits are played in opposing rhythms building to a powerful, driving, crescendo. As a sound the devises they use are refreshing and their performance is uncomplicated worth seeking out.
Peter McGill
(*) Northern Exposure at Wikipedia
(1) DeYarmond Edison
(2) Pitchfork Interview
Date: 22nd January, 2009
Sydney Festival 2009
Bon Iver
Bon Iver are a four piece band, Justin Vernon, Mike Noyce, Sean Carey, Matthew McCaughan, who come from North-western Wisconsin, USA. The force behind the group is singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Justin Vernon who has been making heads turn by producing an album, Emma, forever Ago, with very little technology, a few instruments, and realizing an amazingly unique pastiche of sound. The moniker Bon Iver is an Anglicization and purposeful misspelling of the French greeting bon hiver which means good winter - a greeting he came across while watching Northern Exposure*.
These current songs developed out of the turmoil of the break-up of both Vernon’s long-term relationship and his band DeYarmond Edison(1). He stayed in his fathers' cabin, it was winter, and he was recuperating from liver disease. The songs were only meant to be demos to send to record companies to see if they would produce them but they received such an overwhelmingly agreeable response that Vernon decided to put together a band and start performing them. This was no easy task as the main song For Emma, Forever Ago, according to Vernon, needs a chorus of 80 - 500 people; he gets around this by having the audience sing and therefore the song takes on its' own life unique to the vibe of that room.(2)
The sound created by Bon Iver is unique. Vernon’s’ falsetto, which he uses on most songs and is a recent development in his repertoire, brings an angelic quality to the sound and is balanced out by the deeper harmonies of the three other musicians. Together their vocals are reminiscent of the complexities of country rock greats like the Amazing Rhythm Aces, Charlie Daniels Band and the like. Musically there is a mixture of instruments, guitars, organs, two drum kits, and bass guitar but they are not always used in a traditional manner. Quite often the instruments are used to give a percussive dissonant texture and at times the drum kits are played in opposing rhythms building to a powerful, driving, crescendo. As a sound the devises they use are refreshing and their performance is uncomplicated worth seeking out.
Peter McGill
(*) Northern Exposure at Wikipedia
(1) DeYarmond Edison
(2) Pitchfork Interview
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