Us at Hit The Floor had been excited about this gig for a while as Bon Iver always gives a flawless performance. This was no exception. Colston Hall is one of Bristols larger venues attracting many big names to it, however, this does not mean that it loses it’s intimacy. Even when you are on the balcony you are not actually that far away.
To start the night off was Canadian singer-songwriter and musician, Kathleen Edwards. She kept the audience captivated through her whole set with a mixture of music from her older albums as well as new songs from her album Voyageur which is to be released early 2012. Between songs, Kathleen interacted with the audience so well, throwing in gags about Movember and an on tour hair growth problem of her own… (“if you know what I mean”) then admitting that it was not very lady like to speak about, amongst other jokes about the band members who had joined her on stage which got a few laughs out of the audience. This was an amazing start to the gig.
After a small sound check, Justin Vernon (Bon Iver) walked on stage with an eight-piece band that included many musicians who contributed to the release of his latest album (self named) Bon Iver. Clutching his guitar, Justin kicked off the set with the song Perth, the first track from his latest album. As soon as he started playing, the crowd stood in complete silence. The atmosphere was amazing. The second song was the queue for the photographers to burst in. They were able to take photos for the second, third and fourth songs. However, during the third song, the only stage lights were blindingly red, a photographers nightmare. Most photographers seemed to take it a lot slower during this red phase.
For us, the highlight of the set was when new release Holocene was played followed by an amazing sax solo. This was a nice surprise and a new addition to the Bon Iver set. The night was rounded off with an encore of Bon Iver favourites, For Emma and The Wolves (Act I and II) in which the sound of the audience echoed around the venue singing along. It was a perfect end to and amazing night.
Reviewer : Joshua Bond
Photographer : Joshua Bond (www.liyl.co.uk)
