Bon Iver at The Orpheum Theatre, December 10th, 2011

Winter in the Midwest is an idyllic  time and place to experience Bon Iver; not only is the band name a play on the French phrase bon hiver “good winter”, but Vernon and company  have undoubtedly emanated a delightful mix of crisp, cool and chill-folk which draws from honest Midwestern soul.

The band’s live show has grown into something that can now contend with a different concert market. With the addition of the LED lighting (similar to what Wilco and Radiohead are using) and the addition of new members (including saxaphone genius Colin Stetson) to the band, their stage presence appears very  large while still holding on to the intamacy of what Bon Iver has intened to do all along.

The band appropriately opened the night with Perth, a song that begun and built from a simple but elegant guitar phrase and climaxed with a storm of blue strobe lights and drumming which viscerally pounded your body like thunder.  They went on in order playing more of the tracks from the brilliant Bon Iver (2011), which is now nominated for a Grammy, much to Vernon’s chagrin.  The crowed was  in tune to everything the band offered, but they seemed a bit surprised that a second encore wasn’t in the cards for the evening.

Overall,  the show was quite an amazing experience. I was lucky enough to witness them a couple years back at the Barrymore Theatre when they had a smaller band, and before the indie rocket to stardom blasted off. It was quite different to see them with several more members in the band, but it really seemed like a normal transition for Bon Iver and sounded and looked as if Vernon was exactly where he had envisioned this band.

Set list: Perth . Minnesota, WI , Holocene , Towers , Creature
Fear , Team , Flume , Hinnom, TX , Wash. , Blood Bank , re: Stacks, Calgary, Lisbon,
OH , Beth/Rest , The Wolves (Act I and II)  — Encore: Skinny Love , Who Is It? (Björk
cover), For Emma