Recap Volcano Choir at Turner Hall

Leading up to Saturday night’s Volcano Choir show at Turner Hall, anticipation among Milwaukee music fans was at an all-time high. Though the Justin Vernon/Collections Of Colonies Of Bees mashup had been a concern since 2009, Saturday’s show would be only its second gig in the United States. Clearly, this home-state performance was destined to be a once-in-a-lifetime, can’t-miss event. Before a single note had been played, it seemed as if the night had already been penciled in for “Milwaukee show of the year.”

Happily, the sold-out crowd’s high hopes proved to be well-placed. After an agreeable set of ’80s-tinged chill-wave from opener Mystery Palace, Volcano Choir solemnly took the stage to thunderous applause. Perhaps too solemnly: Following an affable hello, Vernon pulled his hoodie up over his head and stared intently at the ground. As the stage lights dimmed and music began to swell around him, it seemed as if the Bon Iver frontman was preparing to deliver a soothing and informative monologue on Stonehenge. And, oh, how they danced, the little children of Stonehenge.

The Spinal Tap theatrics luckily didn’t last long. Opening with “Husks And Shells”—the lead-off track from the group’s sole LP, Unmap—it was clear Volcano Choir had appropriately beefed up its sound for a live setting. It was an approach the band would follow the entire night—fleshing out Unmap’s sometimes formless, meandering tracks into soaring, anthemic, mini-arena rockers. Supported by CoCo Bees’ crackerjack post-rock instrumentation (and, most notably, the stellar guitar work of Chris Rosenau), Vernon’s famed falsetto soared, even if it sometimes dipped into the Uncanny Chris Martin Valley. Similar to their treatment on Unmap, Vernon’s vocals were also heavily processed and computer-assisted—nearly all the evening’s harmonizing duties were handled by a trusty MacBook.

While most of Unmap’s tracks made it into Saturday’s set, a new song, the terrific “Blue Ni Ni,” was an unexpected highlight. Not only was the song’s mere existence rapturously received, but it was introduced with a Back To The Future reference that added a dash of levity to the sometimes overly-hushed proceedings. (Vernon: “This is a new song. Watch Jon for the changes, and try to keep up.”) The encore selection—“Woods,” from Bon Iver’s Bloodbank EP—proved to be an inspired parting shot.

The matter of Volcano Choir’s limited discography was the night’s only nagging issue. Including the encore, the show came in at a mere hour. Still, what the evening lacked in back-catalog deep cuts it easily made up for in quality. Milwaukee show of the year? For a brief hour, it certainly seemed that way.