MUSIC

Colston Hall, Bristol (Fri 11 Nov)

If Justin Vernon were an animal, what would he be? On the basis of 'For Emma, Forever Ago', his debut, you might be inclined to say owl – solitary, crepuscular, wise. Indeed, like the stealthy talents possessed by said bird of prey, his flight path to fame has been mighty swift and somewhat inconspicuous.

In just four years he's speedily transformed from down-at-heel but sweet-hearted hermit to stately man of the world, thanks to the success of his second album, ‘Bon Iver’, with its ravishing, ambience-embracing palette. Since fleeing his backwood bolthole in Wisconsin (where he catalogued his pains on guitar and laptop), Vernon has buddied up with flamboyant rapper Kayne West, registered Neil Young in his contact book and outsold stars such as Lady Gaga and Eminem.

The first thing that strikes you about this concert: the expansion of Bon Iver as solo artist to Bon Iver the sprawling amorphous sound project (though, don't be fooled – heart-melting tunes are still present and correct). Before, touring 'For Emma..., Vernon was flanked by three hometown buds; now he has eight multi-instrumentalists in tow. Between them they exchange a miscellany of instruments: two drum kits, a clutch of guitars, saxophones of varying shapes and sizes, synths and violin. The most enchanting of these, however, happens to be Vernon's voice, which, moving from pin-drop vulnerability to full-throated falsetto, ties everything together silkily. Woven together, the band accomplish a voluptuous, multi-layered, ambient-orchestral tapestry.

Their hour-and-a-half set is made up of material from all three Bon Iver releases. Old favourites, like ‘Creature Fear’, get full-on rock treatment, while recent tracks such as the shivering 'Holocene' captivate thanks to ebb-and-flow textures of tinkering percussion and unbridled parping brass. Closer 'Skinny Love' is beefed up as a nine-man stomp along and encore 'The Wolves' has everyone in the audience roused to their feet singing rounds of 'What might've been lost'. Bon Iver have gone from strength to strength, but it is their possibilities and potentialities that makes them so alluring. (Jamie Skey)

Copyright Jamie Skey 2011; Photo copyright Rob Skilton 2011 This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it