But to see a gig like this, to see the band who made the album that soundtracked my 2012, the most beautiful, comforting piece of escapist art I have heard in quite possibly my entire life, I don't want a companion to chit chat with. I want to witness the magic recreated on stage; to witness Justin Vernon utter those words "...at once I knew I was not magnificent" first hand. It might sound pretentious, but tonight was not a social occasion for me; It was only about Bon Iver.
Support act The Staves resemble, typically for an all female folk band, a trio of Karen Carpenters. The band however are as masterful at their craft as if there were indeed three of the late songstress up there. Their pitch perfect harmonies resonate charmingly around the arena, where the band clearly belong. "Bugger me, we're at Wembley!" one of the girls amusingly chirps, to whoops and cheers from an impressed crowd. Hopefully the Watford girls get to return here soon.It feels like a long wait, longer when you're on your own (last one, promise), but at quarter past 9, the lights go down and to the simmering sounds of windchimes and dusty percussion, The many members of Bon Iver swoop onto a stage with enough equipment to open a store, and a huge, awe-inspired cheer is saved for the man of the moment, Justin Vernon.
The opening three songs from last year's Bon Iver are the opening three here, and it's clear that the band are going to be performing no chillout set. "Perth" is staggering, thanks in part to a wonderful sound in the arena, and totally justifies Vernon's one-time 'heavy metal' description. The pitter patter arpeggios of "Holocene" are met with surprised cheers at the decision to play it so early in the set, and the crowd don't appear to have been emotionally adjusted yet, but it's gorgeous anyway, although its probably the most autopilot performance of the night. Which suggests just how incredible the later highlights are.As "Perth" hints, the band are ready to rock throughout most of the set, and it's engaging, exciting and gives the tracks new life. EP rarity "Blood Bank" follows "Holocene", and in its live form, it is straight up anthemic, borderline Springsteen even, with an aching, wrenching guitar solo courtesy of Vernon. No one is prepared for it. "Hinnom, TX" even builds to a grandslamming climax, tripling its emotional power, and making the comedown in "Wash" all the more satisfying.
I'm surprised its taken me this long to mention the light show. The stage is scattered with lights that resemble candles in a church, and when combined with the beautiful swathes of green and yellow light that swoop the stage like spotlights, and all the instruments and the many bodies of the band members come in and out of focus, and the whole stage comes off like a musical enchanted forest. It's quite simply breathtaking.The show evolves from joy to joy. Once Vernon starts to engage with the crowd, it's through nonsensical stories about his soggy, cardboard underwear, that are somehow hilarious, and an awkward yet totally endearing mix of crowd-banter and bumbling thanks throughout. His manner is slight, but utterly human and warm, and the perfect antithesis to such epic music. On "Re: Stacks", he brings out his guests The Staves, for a sweet, effortless duet, in which the girls' envelop Vernon's fragile voice with distant wordless harmonies.
It's the show's finale however that really drops jaws. The opening chords of "Calgary" sound spine tingling live, as does the track's emotional climax of clanging guitar and belted vocal, and the burbling soundscape that turns out to be "Lisbon, OH", indicates that "Beth/Rest" is probably coming, and an excited crowd prepare for a send off. But "Beth/Rest" is a revelation that no one could have expected. Everything on paper is cringeworthy. The snare sounds like a building collapsing it's so loud, the notorious Phil Collins electric piano is twangier and more 1980s AOR than ever, and Vernon most noticably sings through a massively compressed autotune device. But it's heartbreakingly perfect. It's melodramatic, but the soul and aggression in Vernon's voice breaks through the autotune, like a battle between Vernon's voice and the machine trying to control it.UK crowds often give awkward lacklustre pre-encore cheers, heaven forbid it look like we actually want more, but not tonight. The cheers are deafening and enthusiastic for a good 2 minutes until Justin et al reappear. When they do, it's a crowd pleasing closer, with "Skinny Love" prompting the night's only audible singalong, and the venue, no matter how big, suddenly feels intimate and friendly, like a super-sized pub gig. "Wolves" changes that however, with it's cataclysmic outro, encouraging every voice in the place to battle it out with the volume of the music as the entire place yells "what might've been lost" until it's meaning is embedded gloriously into the crowd's subconscious.
"For Emma" completes the circle of Bon Iver 'hits', and as the band take their final bows to the crowd, it feels like no stone has been left unturned; that we have just witnessed something rare, something perfect, something a portion of this occasionally noisy crowd didn't quite deserve, or perhaps expect. One things certain however, there's no one person leaving this venue tonight who isn't flabbergasted by the sheer power of tonight's set. One girl gabs in the cloakroom queue "I feel like I've just been to a rave, I'm on such a high!". And this is exactly what Bon Iver Live equates to: Expectations are exceeded, jaws are dropped, and I leave the venue, surrounded by groups of friends struggling not to lose each other in the mob, actually grateful that I don't have to talk to anyone about what I just experienced. As far as I'm concerned, that was just for me.SETLIST
Perth
Minnesota, WI
Holocene
Blood Bank
Beach Baby
Hinnom, TX
Wash
Towers
Creature Fear
Re: Stacks
Michicant
Calgary
Lisbon, OH
Beth/Rest
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Skinny Love
The Wolves (Act I & II)
For Emma
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