(pair of mirrors)

Bon Iver

December 7th 2011

Massey Hall

I keep accidentally not giving Bon Iver enough credit. It happened earlier this year when I didn’t even pay attention to when Bon Iver came out (a terrible oversight, as discussed here) and I did it again over the last month that I didn’t acquire tickets to see Bon Iver at Massey Hall. LUCKILY, I snapped out of it just in time when I saw, Wednesday morning (the morning of their second of 2 sold out shows at Massey Hall) that there were still a couple of tickets available. So I called, got the last pair of tickets and patted myself on the back for being an awesome girlfriend. Little did I know it would be one of my favourite shows ever.

I have seen a lot of shows. Like A LOT. So it takes a lot these days for a concert to make it into my top few concerts of all time. Congratulations Justin Vernon. It struck me as Vernon sang “At once I knew I was not magnificent” that in fact Bon Iver is just that. Magnificent. Orchestral. A symphony of sound that legitimately excites me. About this decade, about this time, about my generation of musicians and artists. This was something amazing and different, pretty, soft, loud, exciting, beautiful and powerful all at once. I’m already looking forward to bragging to my kids about seeing Bon Iver at Massey Hall. And this is all coming from a girl who manages to forget Bon Iver, not give Bon Iver enough credit, and sometimes roll her eyes at Skinny Love. 

Back to the show. There were many things that surprised me about Bon Iver. First of all, Justin Vernon is an incredible singer. Really fantastic. I never thought he wasn’t a good singer, but I was astounded at his vocal abilities while watching him belt these beautiful songs live.  He has incredible vibrato, falsetto, volume and intensity. It was pretty magical. But the voice was just one of many amazing pieces of the musical puzzle. There were two drummers, various brass instruments, an alarming number of guitars, pedals, keyboards, vocalists—I think we counted 30+ instruments that we could see on the stage. A second big surprise was how BIG the sound was. I put on Bon Iver usually to chill out, to stare out a train window or feel subtly safe. I kind of associate Bon Iver with that subtlety. So many moments of this show were so huge though! There were many moments in the set that I knew I was watching a rock band. Then, in an instant, there was just the lightest piano chords and Vernon’s voice. The use of dynamics and build ups was seriously incredible. 

Definitely one of the most moving moments of the show was The Wolves Act I & II. This song wasn’t even on my radar as one of my favourite Bon Iver tunes, but then they asked Massey Hall to sing along to, “what might have been lost.” After our trial run Justin said, “that was great—for a starting volume. You are going to have to get louder and louder because we are going to be getting louder and louder and you don’t want to make us look like ass holes.”  I was reminded of this (pretty incredible) article by Dan Mangan about being a performer or an audience member and having to let yourself be vulnerable. How its hard to let loose and confidently get lost in the music. Bon Iver succeeded in doing just that. They seemed vulnerable to us and us to them. The entire place sang “what might have been lost” with mounting intensity that made me feel like I shared a special moment with the strangers next to and around me, as well as the ones on the balcony below and even the front row. Bon Iver let us be part of Bon Iver. 

And what exactly is Bon Iver? “All these people are Bon Iver” Justin said as he gestured around to the many musicians with him on stage, the sound technician, the guys running to and fro with guitars from the wings. From the beatboxing trombone player to Colin Stetson (yes, THAT Colin Stetson) playing the sax, Bon Iver is now bigger than Vernon and he will be the first to tell you so. He didn’t seem to want to take credit for any of it. He was also so humble, sincere and appreciative of us, the audience, that I found my appreciation for Bon Iver getting bigger and bigger with every minute. 

Bon Iver at Massey Hall is a concert I will never forget. 

-M

p.s. I still hate that 80s keyboard song that sounds like Phil Collins. I tried harder than ever to like it at the show and I just can’t. Sorrry Justin. I love you anyway. 

p.p.s. Vernon says Toronto is one of his favourite places (Thank you Kathleen Edwards). 

p.p.p.s Apparently Holocene is about sneaking out on Christmas to smoke a joint with your brother. Perfection.