Review: Bon Iver at Red Hill Auditorium

Bon Iver at Red Hill Auditorium
w/ Gordi
Sunday, February 26, 2023

Under the stars of a hot Perth summer night, Bon Iver delivered a musical showcase to a sold-out Red Hill Auditorium that transported and transformed; making the rest of the world seem a million miles away.

Performing as part of Perth Festival, this was Bon Iver’s first visit to Perth since 2012, and in that time, a lot has changed, as part of a natural evolutionary growth from the band’s initial origin as a solo project to a fully fledged functioning six-piece.

The night commenced with Gordi, the moniker for Australian singer-songwriter Sophie Payton. Her brand of ambient indie-folk shared much in common with that of the headliner and label-mate, while also hinting at a poppier side, ala Phoebe Bridgers or Julia Jacklin, particularly in her vocal delivery. A resplendent singer and performer, Gordi connected well with the audience. 

After just a short break, Bon Iver took to the stage, with Vernon offered a welcome to country before leading the group into the auto-tuned falsetto of 666ʇ. Other early highlights followed; the folksy Heavenly Father, 715 – CR∑∑KS, which Vernon performed acoustically on his own and the electronic soundscape Hey, Ma which the band were able to faithfully recreate live, right down to the various whirs and bleeps that feature on the album.

While Vernon is still the obvious focal point of Bon Iver, it was apparent throughout the night how vital all six members of the band were to proceedings. Spread evenly across the stage, each on their own riser, they appeared like scientists busy at their workstations undertaking a new experiment. 

New song, Speyside, led by Vernon on acoustic guitar with backing from Mike Lewis backing on saxophone was breathtaking, as was Perth, which made brilliant use of the dual-drummers (S. Carey and Matt McCaughan) and was Bon Iver’s closest thing to rocking out.

Now on the home-stretch, re: stacks was epic, as was Holocene, where the multiple vocal harmonies shone over the rhythmic, lilting guitar lick, before Narem, with its “Oh lord” shuddering electronic intro and gospel-like vocals providing the night with its most spiritual moment.

Returning for an encore, Bon Iver played their biggest hit to date, Skinny Love, before finishing the show with the introspective and uplifting fan-favourite RABi. And on that positive note, Vernon thanked the crowd, who were in stunned silence, before his final request for all to “spread love.” 

And with a soundtrack like what the audience had just witnessed, this seemed like the very least that we could do in return.

MICHAEL HOLLICK

Photos by Tashi Hall and Cam Campbell