TALL MEN A PLENTY

Caught an excellent show last night of 2 bands that have put forth, in my opinion, some of the top albums of 2008. Opener was The Tallest Man On Earth (Kristian Matsson, swede who is actually not that tall) and headliner was Justin Vernon, (extremely tall) hailing from Wisconsin whose band name is Bon Iver.
Excellent pics from the show here via brooklynvegan

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∆ skinny love

Last summer, Bon Iver played a CMJ show to a scant crowd of maybe 15 at Piano's. I was there, maybe 5 feet away, watching a visibly nervous justin vernon play a beautiful heart felt set (like the wounds from the breakup of his old band and girlfriend were possibly still tender). It was an incredibly intimate show and sincere performance.
Last night, I watched him play before a sold out show at Town Hall and to my surprise the emotion was still there. No signs of nerves but still humble as ever. He has come very far in very little time. It’s the kind of success story that makes you nervous because you wonder if this upward trajectory to almost every music blogger's ”top albums of 2008” list, is almost setting him up for failure because there is so much expectation. Having seen him 3 times now, I don’t think he will fail or disappoint. His falsetto is capable of melting the iciest of hearts. If he’s in your neck of the woods, go and see for yourself...sooner than later. He’s only getting more critical acclaim and his shows will sell out.

Bon Iver myspace page

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∆ i won't be found

Since I’ve seen bon iver twice for free, what sealed the deal for me was the opener, the tallest man on earth. Yes, there are the comparisons to Dylan and the whole 60’s folk thing but you know what? He’s Swedish, plays the guitar effortlessly and has a better command of the english language than a lot of American musicians trying to do the whole folk singer-songwriter thing. And though his personal style is a contradiction to his music, appropriating from several different genres and decades with his uber hipster french new wave duds, greaser james dean hair and 70's sellack 'stache, the music is good ole' american folk through and through.

The tallest man on earth myspace page