Julia Schabas<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Video: Bon Iver\u00a0Concert<\/a><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was a cold Tuesday night in December on Shuter Street in downtown Toronto. Christmas shopping season had begun. Across the street at the Eaton Centre, crowds buzzed and the sounds of live street music from Dundas Square were pouring down Yonge. Instead of joining the throng, my friends and I rushed through the great red double doors of Massey Hall, anxious to be warmed by another kind of seasonal sound: the soft harmonies of Bon Iver.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0Although pronounced like the French, bon hiver, <\/em>for \u201cgood winter,\u201d Bon Iver is actually a Wisconsin group made up of vocals, percussion, guitars, violins and horns. This eclectic ensemble plays a variety of folk, rock, and experimental music.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The band\u2019s first album For Emma, Forever Ago <\/em>was released in 2008, containing one of the band\u2019s most well known songs, \u201cSkinny Love\u201d. Even with the thousands of covers surfacing on YouTube, including the unfortunate recorded cover by British singer, Birdy. Many would agree that nothing can meet the mood that lead singer Justin Vernon sets in the band\u2019s hit.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 More recently, last June the band released their eponymous album, Bon Iver, <\/em>which has grabbed four 2012 Grammy nominations, including \u201cSong of the Year\u201d and \u201cRecord of the Year.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 I first heard Bon Iver this past summer at camp, and I instantly fell in love; going to the concert was the cherry on top to my recent encounter with them, as I\u2019m sure it was to older fans.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI probably saw six or seven concerts in December,\u201d says fellow attendee and NT English teacher, Mr. Dickstein. \u201cAnd in my life, I\u2019ve probably seen one hundred and fifty [concerts]. That was top five.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The warm, cozy and rustic Massey Hall was brightened by brilliant neon lights, playing as an accompaniment to the soulful music of the band and heart-wrenchingly beautiful vocals of Justin Vernon.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019re going to be dipping a lot into our back catalogue,\u201d announced Vernon at the start of the show, which was received by a roar of cheers from the crowd.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 With a mixture of numbers from For Emma, Forever Ago <\/em>and Bon Iver<\/em>, it felt as if the whole concert was a lead up to the finale: \u201cSkinny Love.\u201d<\/p>\n The song is almost like a pleading; a song begging for love to last a little longer, even when you know that it can\u2019t. In a June 2011 interview in the online journal Pitchfork<\/em>, Justin Vernon described the song as a situation when \u201cyou\u2019re in a relationship because you need help, but that\u2019s not necessarily why you should <\/em>be in a relationship. And that\u2019s skinny. It doesn\u2019t have weight. Skinny love doesn\u2019t have a chance because it\u2019s not nourished.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n Bon Iver performed \u201cSkinny Love\u201d that night with Vernon set centre stage on the acoustic guitar, accompanied by a percussion of drums, claps and foot stomps supporting him from behind.\u00a0 As the final song in their set list before the encore, it was truly an epic ending.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cI thought it was impossible to top his recordings,\u201d says a fellow concertgoer. \u201cThen I saw him live.\u201d \u201cSkinny Love\u201d felt more genuine than any live music I had experienced, and the soul and meaning of the song reached right into my gut.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 In Bon Iver\u2019s two encores that night, they played an upbeat, yet poignant, \u201cFor Emma,\u201d and finished with \u201cThe Wolves (Act I and II).\u201d A song searching for love, the band had the audience join in with the lyrics, \u201cwhat might have been lost,\u201d a perfect finish to a perfect night.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 As a whole, the concert felt like a story. One song led into another, a new chapter with a new title; piecing together the broken pieces, and making one, unified aura.<\/p>\n \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cWhat might have been lost,\u201d I sang along with Vernon? Probably my heart.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Julia Schabas Video: Bon Iver\u00a0Concert \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 It was a cold Tuesday night in December on Shuter Street in downtown Toronto. Christmas shopping season had begun. Across the street at the Eaton Centre, crowds buzzed and the sounds of … Continue reading