Mild weather and mellow music make a great combination. Stir Cove, once again on the cutting edge of entertainment, brought Bon Iver to the stage. I was pretty psyched to hear this band. They have been getting a host of attention and press lately in Rolling Stone and other mags, and you should already know I’m a huge fan of indie music.
Justin Vernon’s vocals were quite interesting. His range went from bass to falsetto without faltering. The band was extremely tight – and there were nine of them on the platform! How many times have you seen a slide trombone, trumpet, some other inexplicable wind instrument and TWO drum sets for a simple indie band? The harmonies were full and rich. A couple of times, though, I just wanted them to ‘bust out full throttle’ and jam for me for 5 minutes – but it was not to be so – and that’s okay. There was a lot of complexity in the words and in the instrumental presentation even though each tune ended a bit too soon for me.
This band has performed at a number of music festivals such as Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits and Lollapalooza, and is building a loyal and strong fan base. Local fans circled the scaffolding and were very receptive to the performance. Bon Iver seemed to be enjoying the evening as well, noting that the amphitheater was ‘so cool’. Vernon repeatedly thanked everyone for being there.
Bon Iver’s second album was released this summer and I encourage you to snag it. If you are at all into indie rock or folk rock, the self-titled album is worthy of your hard earned dollars and cents. I think this band is still evolving, and with each stage of progression will come more experimentation and variety. Who knows, maybe the next time I see them (and yes, there will be a next time) I’ll get that 5 minute jam.
Next up for Stir Cove, my very favorite venue in the Metro area, is Stone Temple Pilots. Go to www.stircove.com and get your tickets right now for the September 16th performance. Then, while you’re at it, you could pick up a pair for September 25th when Stir welcomes yet another icon in folk music – Gordon Lightfoot. C’mon – the season is winding down and you don’t want to be left out!
