Bon Iver
Where to even begin… can an experience ever be quantified? Can it ever be articulated in a meaningful manner? Even be brought back to life from the past? That word meaning really strikes a chord. I could sit here and describe last night’s gig in some detail, but I want to discuss the idea of meaning with you because that’s something worthy of a good chat.
Bon Iver are without doubt a band brimming with genius, meaning and transcendent love. You instantly feel it standing there in your spot among the crowd, a feeling somewhat elusive yet I believe we all seek in our own way. For me, music is what facilitates total and unbounded love. That space in between minds where an artist tells a beautiful story and momentarily connects with you is no less than utter magic.
Sat on a park bench under the sun, John and I discussed the spirituality of music and whether we as humans can sustain this connection with the mystical unknown. After a few hours though, we had more questions than answers. One thing we agreed upon is that good music will often distract ourselves from ourselves. All those worries, problems, deadlines disappear and you are just there… wholly present with yourself and crucially, exactly where you should be. Whether we can maintain such a high and walk along the clouds together is maybe too hard a question.
In my years of going to gigs, I have never experienced anything like Bon Iver. At times, it was as if I had completely flown away from London and existed just as beam of light or a drop of water floating in the air. I don’t have the vocabulary to really explain what I mean but I had to write something, how could an incredible moment such as Holocene or Skinny Love just be bottled away forever inside.
Tears were shed. Joy, love and surprisingly a fear of the unknown. For a time I felt entirely vulnerable and full of fear. Stripped back from the mundanity of daily life and on the edge of something greater. I have never considered myself in any way religious or spiritual, but I honestly believe this experience has changed me. A part of the soul has been stirred by a fiery meaning that I do not understand but I know with all my heart exists. Oh it exists.
