Bon Iver Wraps Up His New York Run (12.14.16)

The last show on his run of 10 New York shows in support of his latest record “22, A Million”, Bon Iver ended the tour at the smallest venue on the docket, Brooklyn’s Music Hall of Williamsburg. With other locales such as Kings Theatre and Hammerstein Ballroom, the intimate space of the recently AXS acquired club begged the question as to how the grandiose compositions of the recent Bon Iver record would be performed.

Andy Fitzpatrick, the multi-instrumentalist/guitarist currently in Bon Iver’s backing band opened the show with ethereal, ambient compositions. The musician performed the tracks on an analog synthesizer similar to that of Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith.

Starting his set with the album opener “22 (OVER S∞∞N).” The most impeccable aspect of the set was singer Justin Vernon’s ability to draw the crowd into utter awe, keeping the more sparse arrangements on tracks like “715- CREEKS” free of any unwarranted commentary. Though it was a fairly straightforward set, literally playing the entire record in order, with the encore of “Creature Fear” from their debut record “For Emma, Forever Ago.” The backing band changed drastically since the band’s sophomore record, with the group primarily centered around Justin Vernon, and drummers Sean Carey and Matthew McCaughan. As well as, the massive saxophone group known as the Sad Sax of Shit, who performed on the record, and appeared from the stage right balcony like a choir of horns descending from the heavens. However, with the full show barely clocking in at 40 minutes, it seemed like a disservice and a missed opportunity. Other nights of the tour featured surprises such as Francis and the Lights and hits like “Skinny Love,” and with Vernon’s roster of associates (everyone from Sharon Van Etten to Kanye West) it seemed unfortunate that the only big musicians were seen in the crowd. Artists like Ryn Weaver and Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry (who also said that the band is going to record their third LP in early 2017) were spotted hanging around after the truncated set.
Setlist:
22 (OVER S∞∞N)
10 d E A T h b R E a s T
715 – CREEKS
33 “GOD”
29 #Strafford APTS
666 ʇ
21 M♢♢N WATER
8 (circle)
____45_____
00000 Million

Encore:
Creature Fear

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Andy Fitzpatrick

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Bon Iver

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