In case you've missed practically every noteworthy blog hyping it, or didn't watch The Colbert Report last night, here's some news: Bon Iver, the band, released Bon Iver, the album, today. It's the band's second outing, and technically the first that was recorded as a band and not just songwriter Justin Vernon.
It's pretty good, too, tapping into the soft rock template of Genesis, Peter Gabriel's solo excursions, and Bruce Hornsby's horn-laden pop, while still keeping a pensive, post-rock distance. Vernon made his mark as "that guy who made a record in the woods," but with songs like my favorite, "Beth/Rest," it's clear that he's moved out of the cabin and into...well, something else, like a Walgreens, suggests web editor Jonathan McNamara.
As if word of new record wasn't enough, Stateside Presents and Livenation just went and dropped some huge plans: Bon Iver is coming to Comerica Theatre on September 15, and that's not all -- pastoral folk giants Fleet Foxes are co-headlining and scrappy rock 'n' rollers The Walkmen are opening.
I have yet to see Bon Iver live -- though I really dug his Bonnie Rait/Donnie Hathaway/Leon Russell performance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon -- but I've seen Fleet Foxes and The Walkmen, and both bands put on a tremendous show.
Not only is this a great lineup, but it's a unique one. The date is the only one on Bon Iver's tour that finds him paired with Fleet Foxes, who released Helplessness Blues, one of our favorite albums of the year so far.
Tickets go on sale Friday, June 24, but you can "like" Stateside's Facebook page for a special link and password to get tickets on Wednesday night, before they go on sale to the general public. Otherwise, you can get tickets the old fashioned way, by visiting a TicketMaster location, the Comerica Theatre box office, or checking out Livenation online.
