Bon Iver's link to Milwaukee development

Before Bon Iver took the stage at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, city development attorney Tom Gartner read Mayor Tom Barrett ’s proclamation that it was Bon Iver day.

That's because Gartner is the godfather of the band’s founder Justin Vernon . Gartner, an assistant city attorney whose work on real estate financing deals makes him a familiar face in City Hall, is an old pal of Vernon’s dad, Gil.

“We’ve shared apartments in Chicago and we’ve always been hunting and fishing buddies since," Gartner said of Gil, "so I ended up being Justin’s godfather.”

It’s just another example of how small the world is, and how Milwaukeeans have a knack of connecting with some of the world’s famous. Bon Iver, whose second album debuted second on the Billboard album charts in June, was founded by Eau Claire native Justin Vernon .

Gartner said his July 22 Riverside experience was fun and, although he arrived to the show early, he was rushed on and off stage before he knew it.

Bon Iver – Riverside Theatre, Milwaukee 22-23/07/11 | The Line Of ...

If the vast array of instruments set up on stage at the Riverside Theatre in Milwaukee didn’t make it completely clear to everyone in the audience that this was a new, more fully-realized incarnation of Bon Iver , then that point was driven home about a minute into the stirring set opener, ‘Perth,’ as an enormous wall of bass washed over the crowd. This wasn’t going to be a flimsy, diaphanous live attempt to capture the beauty and majesty of Justin Vernon’s songs, this was going to be a performance with teeth, one that you can feel physically as well as emotionally.

This was Bon Iver Version 2.0, and it was a stunning, robust realization of Vernon’s artistic vision, filling the sold-out Riverside with two nights of massive, breath-taking sounds crafted by Justin and his stellar 8-piece backing band, which featured a thunderous, double-drum attack, as well as numerous brass flourishes that really fleshed out the songs nicely. The band had been in the theatre all week rehearsing before the show (the first official Bon Iver live show since performing in this same venue nearly two years earlier), and that practice clearly paid off, as the songs soared with the band’s studied, textured approach, transitioning effortlessly from one track to the next while keeping the intensity level high throughout each 95-minute performance.

The setlists didn’t vary too much over the course of the two shows, with just a couple different songs switched out each evening (‘Beach Baby’ and ‘Brackett, WI’ from Night One exchanged for ‘Creature Fear’ and ‘For Emma’ on Night Two). But it definitely seemed like there was a nervous excitement that pulsed throughout the first show (which was proclaimed Bon Iver Day in Milwaukee by the mayor), which was replaced on the second night by a focus and potency that only added to the strength of the songs. The new tracks were all dynamic and simply enormous sounding, as the big band breathed a spirit and force into those songs that made the lovely, delicate album versions sound quite tame by comparison.

There were also elements of Justin’s spare, solitary musical roots that shone through the performance, as the band left Vernon alone on stage for a solo, stirring version of ‘Re: Stacks,’ that was a gorgeous, unguarded moment of pure musical perfection. A powerful rendition of ‘Blood Bank’ was another clear highlight, augmented perfectly by deep red lights that ominously bathed the stage. But the real stars of the show were Justin and his first-rate band, who proved to be dexterous (with most of them fluidly bouncing from one instrument to the next) and diverse, going from a tender, touching Bon Iver song one moment (‘Skinny Love’ on Night One and ‘Calgary’ on Night Two), to a surprisingly awesome cover of Björk’s ‘Who Is It,’ which featured the on-point beatboxing of horn player Reggie Pace.

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