Bon Iver – Hammersmith Apollo, London
Never mind the shed factor, Justin Vernon's got the X Factor
Words Alex Denney
Anyone only passingly familiar with the phenomenon that is Bon Iver would be forgiven for imagining their shows to be staid affairs; all polite shushing and warm smatterings of applause. Those people won’t have reckoned on two things — the amazing popularity of ‘Skinny Love’, which has now gone onto join that most dubious of modern-day folk canons, the ‘X Factor’ songbook, and brings scores of youngsters into tonight’s Hammersmith Apollo show. And secondly, the unexpected dynamism of bandleader Justin Vernon’s arrangements and his nine-strong troupe of musicians.
This is quite simply one of the best gigs of the year, with our genial host Vernon weaving effortlessly between the lonesome, fireside anthems of For Emma, Forever Ago and the more meticulously-plotted numbers off his faintly divisive newbie, Bon Iver. That record saw Vernon overcome a bout of writer’s block by seeking out sonic textures which would guide the songriting process; a trick which wrought some fine results but whose fruits are perhaps best appreciated in a live context, where the full scope of Vernon’s ambition can be appreciated.
If For Emma… sounded, unkindly, like the work of a talented busker, Bon Iver has to rank as one of the most audacious second-album manoeuvres we’ve ever known, with Vernon presiding over a panoply of sounds in his newly executive role. It’s this chutzpah he’s brought to his live shows, picking out an ensemble of extremely gifted musicians who bring exactly the right mix of flair and discretion to the songs. This is beautiful, grown-up music free of the clichés that plague so many modern-day folk practitioners, played by a band that can swing like The Band in their prime, rock like Crazy Horse and breathe, during the course of several meditative instrumental passages, like latter-day Talk Talk.
Vernon himself, meanwhile, is in fine voice throughout. His much-admired falsetto brings the 5,000-capacity venue to near-total silence at moments, and his exhortation for us to sing, not along with him, but all together during a rendition of ‘The Wolves (Act I & II)’ proves why, far from being a lost boy shivering up in the proverbial woods, he’s actually the chillest bro in music right now.
We end with Vernon fetching his bar stool and resonator guitar for an airing of ‘Skinny Love’, met with an absolutely thunderous reception by the sell-out crowd. It’s a reminder that Bon Iver will need to bring the anthems if they’re to lift that particular millstone from round their necks, but with his second album and inspired shows like this one, Justin Vernon has already proved himself way, way more than a man in a shed with a bunch of pretty tunes. Incredible stuff.
