Bon Iver slays Opera House

AS BRILLIANT colours and patterns swept across the Sydney Opera House to signal the opening of Vivid Sydney, Bon Iver lit up the Concert Hall inside.

Justin Vernon of Bon Iver during a 2012 performance at the Sydney Opera House. Picture: Getty

AS BRILLIANT colours and patterns swept across the Sydney Opera House sails to signal the opening of Vivid Sydney 2016, Bon Iver painted the Concert Hall inside with a rich palette of voice and instruments.

The first of four much anticipated bespoke performances by the revered American sonic architect Justin Vernon and his band drew an audience of true believers and the curious for his sold out Cercle show.

Bon Iver plays at the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House. Picture: Supplied

Constructed in the round, the concert included the choir seats at the back of the hall which are often obscured by production for the rock performances granted entrance to one of the world’s most iconic venues.

Bon Iver’s frontman and creative force Vernon opened solo with Woods under a solid spotlight, looping layers of his distinctive voice to build the song into a cacophonous choir.

The band and his guest English female trio The Staves formed a circle around Vernon for most of the concert, caught in a beautiful cage of lights, often cast as spaceship tractor beams, and a fringe which hung like fine jellyfish tentacles from the ceiling.

Bon Iver plays at the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House. Picture: Supplied

The band configuration ebbed and flowed around the frontman as Vernon reinvented the familiar and added songs he said they had never played before from across his acclaimed albums including the breakthrough debut For Emma, Forever Ago, his Blood Bank EP and self-titled second record.

Often the instrumentation was almost incidental in creating the mood of the night when Vernon held you enthralled with the purity of his voice and its viscerally emotional range.

One of the highlights of the night was surely the first indie Billy versus Elton moment when Vernon and his “piano partner in crime” Sean Carey played and sang opposite each other for I Can’t Make You Love Me. It was compelling as a male duet.

Justin Vernon and his “piano partner in crime” Sean Carey. Picture: Supplied

Vernon chooses his gigs now and was excited about the opportunity to fashion a concert for Vivid in a city and country he loves to visit.

Songs have been inspired here, including Beach Baby which he introduced with “there’s no shark attacks in this one.”

He was a generous host, thanking the crowd lucky enough to procure the sought-after tickets and declaring “you guys have the best white wine in the world” before playing Michicant.

Those songs which have struck a resounding chord with fans across the world were given their due to loud appreciation from the crowd, including Roslyn, WA, Blood Bank, Holocene and Skinny Love.

Bon Iver slays the Concert Hall at the Sydney Opera House. Picture: Supplied

While Bon Iver slew the Concert Hall, Vivid Live opened with another Vheadliner Anonhi, the transgender artist who formerly fronted Antony and the Johnsons, next door in the Joan Sutherland Theatre and the Goodgod Super Club, a pop-up nightclub housed in the building Studio basement space.

The music and the lights dazzling Sydney for another winter’s festival.

Bon Iver presents Cercle at the Concert Hall again on Saturday, Sunday and Monday.

Originally published as Bon Iver slays Opera House