Bon Iver @ The Forum

Well it was our turn to experience the incredible talent of Justin Vernon and his band last night at the magical Forum theatre and let’s just say the bar has been set high for the rest of the gigs for 2009. What surprised me most was how electric the live versions of the songs from his debut are with a full band. I had second row seats and the sound was loud and fantastic! As you can see from the setlist below he also played three tracks off the Blood Bank EP which was just released today and they were also incredible live, especially ‘Blood Bank’ itself. The highlights for me were definitely ‘Skinny Love’, ‘Flume’ and ‘For Emma, Forever Ago’ but the relatively short set (an hour) was non-stop greatness from beginning to end. His band were also top-notch and Mikey on back-up vocals also with a great voice, did a lovely cover of the Graham Nash song ‘Simple Man’. Oh and you have to try the bands drink, a ‘Yahtzee!’ – Whisky and Red Bull :)

If you’ve yet to see Bon Iver live, get yourself a ticket because you will not be disappointed, that I guarantee.

Setlist:
Babys
Flume
Lump Sum
Creature Fear
Beach Baby
Skinny Love
Re: Stacks
Blood Bank
Simple Man (Graham Nash cover)
The Wolves

ENCORE:
For Emma, Forever Ago

Tuesday, January 20 2009

Music Review

Bon Iver Forum

Arcade Fire @ The Forum

Pic above is courtesy of Daniel Boud (from the Sydney BDO)

ONE OF THE GREATEST GIGS I HAVE EVER SEEN! I think they were a little worse for wear after the BDO yesterday and it is possible Win’s voice wasn’t in the best condition but I didn’t care at all. How can they be topped this year?

Wednesday, January 30 2008

Music General

Arcade Fire Best Gig Ever Forum

Tegan and Sara

Those pixie-haired Canadians brought their inoffensive pop-rock to the Forum last night under sold out conditions. Clearly there is a lot of love for Tegan and Sara and as a fan of the album So Jealous, I was slightly disappointed with their live act. There was nothing wrong with it really but I felt it just lacked a certain energy and spark. But perhaps that was because this was my second gig in a row where I wasn’t shooting from the photo pit. I had photographer access since I got into the venue as a photographer, but when I went to the front, I needed a specific photo pass and when I told the bouncer they didn’t give me one, he wouldn’t let me in. And by the time it would have taken me to go all the way back to the entrance to grab one, I would’ve only been able to shoot one song (and since their songs are so short, it would’ve sucked ass). To top it all off, the gig started at 9pm! Like when does a big act like this start their performance at 9pm? Grrrrrrrrrrr