{"id":373,"date":"2012-04-29T09:44:40","date_gmt":"2012-04-29T15:44:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/?p=373"},"modified":"2012-04-30T08:41:25","modified_gmt":"2012-04-30T14:41:25","slug":"bon-iver-taping-at-austin-city-limits","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/2012\/04\/29\/bon-iver-taping-at-austin-city-limits\/","title":{"rendered":"Bon Iver Taping at Austin City Limits"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Currently in taping for its 38<sup>th<\/sup> season, Austin City Limits is a stalwart, monolithic television program unlike any other.\u00a0 The fact that the program has achieved this with unwavering dedication to music has garnered them The Peabody Award and the National Medal of Arts\u2014both highly deserved.\u00a0 Truly, their over 900 tapings and impressive, diverse docket of artists is staggering, and playing ACL has become an indicator of status.<\/p>\n<p>As such, it surpasses, say, winning a Grammy, an award from a program that lumped into the same category Bon Iver\u2019s bleak and beautiful \u201cHolocene\u201d and Bruno Mars\u2019 trite and garish \u201cGrenade.\u201d Certainly, we were proud to see Bon Iver win Best Alternative Music Album, but playing Austin City Limits is a much more significant honor than winning a Grammy.<\/p>\n<p>When Bon Iver took the ACL stage in the newly constructed facility in the bottom of the W Hotel last Wednesday night, the band was great in number.\u00a0 Two full drum sets perched on platforms at either end of the stage oversaw an entourage of musicians playing a wide range of instruments including: guitar, bass, keys, violin, trumpet, trombone, soprano and baritone sax, clarinet, French horn, chimes, triangle, and shaker. What more to say than\u2014wow?<\/p>\n<p>Bon Iver fittingly kicked off the set with \u201cPerth,\u201d the opener from their most recent and eponymous album, and the crowd was enthralled from the beginning.\u00a0 With a television taping environment, fans are more polite than ever, which allows the performing artist to focus on molding the song exactly as they see fit, not worrying about loud chatter or the lull of a slower song.\u00a0 The latter might have been a legitimate concern for Bon Iver, whose songs, nuanced and layered with many instruments, still register as quiet, delicate even, on recordings.\u00a0 However, true to form, Justin Vernon proved his deep understanding of music by displaying his awareness that what works on a recording will not work live.\u00a0 Almost all of the songs Bon Iver performed Wednesday night saw more rocking and faster-paced renditions than in their initial incarnations. \u00a0When this was not the case, the quiet beauty still transfixed the crowd and additional instrumentation and crescendo builds aided the new arrangements.<\/p>\n<p>Though \u201cPerth\u201d felt remarkably full, as did \u201cMinnesota, WI,\u201d with which the band followed, it was the third song, \u201cBrackett, WI,\u201d released on an AIDS awareness compilation, that really brought the rock full-force. The band played 19 of their repertoire of only about 25 songs, good news for fans who got to hear almost everything for which they could hope.\u00a0 The result was an even mix of songs from their first and second albums, as well as their EP.\u00a0 The title track from the latter, \u201cBlood Bank,\u201d topped my highlight list for the night as a personal favorite.\u00a0 The driving and loud version of the song eventually dissolved into frenetic noise in the most wonderful way possible.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHinnom, TX\u201d and \u201cHolocene\u201d elicited longer than usual applause from the crowd, and when the band started \u201cSkinny Love,\u201d fans audibly responded at the first note.\u00a0 As the set wound down, you could see the band joking and laughing with enjoyment and relaxation during \u201cCalgary.\u201d\u00a0 It\u2019s always delightful to see bands at ease with one another and clearly enjoying making music.<\/p>\n<p>Returning for the encore, Vernon said, \u201cI woke up this morning\u2026in Texas,\u201d having to pause for the ruckus applause to dwindle before finishing, \u201cand decided I should play this song.\u201d\u00a0 The song happened to be Patty Griffin\u2019s \u201cNobody\u2019s Crying.\u201d\u00a0 With Griffin&#8217;s ties to county and folk that clearly invoke the traditions of Texas music, the choice makes sense.\u00a0 However, I think Vernon\u2019s connection to Griffin may extend further.\u00a0 Griffin, who has also\u00a0graced the ACL stage,\u00a0was born in the stark, cold of Old Town, Maine, which lies at the exact same latitude (44\u00b0N) as Vernon\u2019s hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin.\u00a0 In addition to both being from remote, frigid locales, their penchant for eloquently expressing loneliness and isolation and their unexpected success define them\u2014perhaps as true kindred spirits. \u00a0Needless to say, attendees responded with warmth and affection to the gentle, heartrending performance of the song.<\/p>\n<p>The band ended the night with \u201cFor Emma,\u201d sending the crowd out undoubtedly humming the somber brass notes still buzzing in their minds.\u00a0 At one point during the encore, Vernon complimented the achievements of Austin City Limits, saying, \u201cThis is the only good, perfect, wonderful music show that we have.\u201d\u00a0 We agree, Mr. Vernon, especially when it involves a performance as captivating and awe-inspiring as yours.<\/p>\n<p>Photos below courtesy of KLRU\/Scott Newton<\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 50%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-373 gallery-columns-2 gallery-size-thumbnail'>\n<dl class='gallery-item'>\n<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_001.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_001-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-375\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_001-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_001-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-375'>\n\t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy of KLRU\/Scott Newton\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<dl class='gallery-item'>\n<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_002.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_002-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-376\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_002-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_002-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-376'>\n\t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy of KLRU\/Scott Newton\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<p><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><\/p>\n<dl class='gallery-item'>\n<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_003.jpg'><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_003-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" aria-describedby=\"gallery-1-381\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_003-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/Bon_Iver_003-50x50.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt>\n<dd class='wp-caption-text gallery-caption' id='gallery-1-381'>\n\t\t\t\tPhoto courtesy of KLRU\/Scott Newton\n\t\t\t\t<\/dd>\n<\/dl>\n<p>\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Currently in taping for its 38th season, Austin City Limits is a stalwart, monolithic television program unlike any other.\u00a0 The fact that the program has achieved this with unwavering dedication to music has&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":381,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,16],"tags":[88,87,73],"class_list":["post-373","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-features","category-live-music","tag-acl","tag-boniver","tag-livemusic"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=373"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":378,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/373\/revisions\/378"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/381"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=373"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=373"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poppressinternational.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=373"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}