Tuesday, February 19th, Bon Iver and Black Mountain will be playing at the Rock and Roll Hotel in DC.
Bon Iver: As you may have seen, I recently wrote a post declaring For Emma, Forever Ago the best album of 2007. There were many great albums that came out last year, a number of which could have easily been considered the “best of ’07,” however, there was something about Justin Vernon’s album that spoke to me–it may have been the story of how the album was produced in complete isolation in a winter cabin in Wisconsin, or maybe it was solely his humbling voice over the gentle strums of his guitar. One things for certain: this album is spectacular. I can’t wait for the Tuesday show and if you have the opportunity to see Bon Iver live, you’d be foolish not to. Other tour dates can be found HERE. You should also check out this new interview Pitchfork did with Justin Vernon, discussing his favorite bands, tv shows, books, etc. For Emma Forever Ago, is being re-released on the jagjaguwar label, and will be available for purchase Tuesday.
Black Mountain: If you like Bon Iver, you will like at least some of Black Mountain’s music. Their album, In The Future, released late January, and is worth your listen. The instrumentals are louder than For Emma, Forever ago, but there are songs that definitely bring Bon Iver to mind, such as “Stay Free.” Perhaps it’s just my taste, but the songs that have a slower tempo seem a lot better to me. I fully acknowledge that there are people out there that only like the grungier songs such as the seventeen minute song, “Bright eyes,” but that’s not generally the music we feature on the site. The guitar on “Wild Wind,” reminds me of Nels Cline on Wilco’s, Sky Blue Sky and sounds really good. Tyrant starts out really intense, but quickly changes directions and is also a really nice song to listen to. I respect Black Mountain’s ability to spice things up and experiment with the tempo throughout In the Future. For me, this show is worth it just to see Bon Iver, but Black Mountain is an added bonus. I can picture Black Mountain being a great band to see live, as well. Since the DC show is the same day as the release of For Emma, Forever Ago, the show will also serve somewhat as an “unofficial” release party.
Both the Black Mountain’s and Bon Iver are signed to jagjaguwar.
For Emma, Forever ago (2007-2008):
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Black Mountain- In The Future (2008):