Bon Iver 7/29/11 Raleigh by Jake Seaton | Music.MyNC.Com | WNCN NBC-17

Bon Iver

No surprise, it was hot Friday. I mean, we’re talking triple digits into the night. Add in around 5,000 concert goers sitting shoulder to shoulder in the uncovered Raleigh Amphitheater, relief was scant save for the air conditioned bathrooms.

But by the time Raleigh darlings The Rosebuds took the stage ahead of Triangle expat Bon Iver, the heat was on the verge of being forgotten, giving way to a set comprised of mostly new tunes from the ‘Buds chilly new album.

After catching The Rosebuds during their June album release show at Kings, I knew the songs were solid then, and a month on the road could only better them for the band’s return to its home state.

And that it did.

The tracks from Loud Planes Fly Low sounded as effortless as those from Night of the Furies, though the crowd clearly still favored those older cuts — standing and singing along with “Cemetery Lawns” and “Nice Fox.”

With the band cutting its teeth between here and Wilmington, that shouldn’t come as any surprise as these older songs have a special place in the hearts of Raleighites. And by the sound of The Rosebuds’ banter with the crowd, Raleigh holds a special place in the band’s hearts as well.

While the ‘Buds have been on the road with Bon Iver since the tour’s start on July 22, it is especially fitting the two bands would take the stage together in Raleigh.
While living in the City of Oaks, Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon established a kinship with the ‘Buds, going so far as to produce the band’s 2007 album Night of the Furies. Vernon even lent vocals to the track “Silja Line” and guitar to “Get Up Get Out,” “Silence By The Lakeside” and “When The Lights Went Dim.”

As for Vernon, he’s come a long way since those Raleigh days. He recently released a critically acclaimed sophomore full-length, he’s teamed up with Kanye West and his band is now an impressive nine members deep.

The Rosebuds

Jake Seaton | Music.MyNC.Com | WNCN NBC-17 | Producer

About the Author

George Burrows

George grew up in central Iowa in and around Des Moines. His early musical influences were Errol Garner, Ella Fitzgerald Dave Brubeck and Duke Ellington. George credits his mother's appreciation of jazz as his introduction and appreciation of progressive music. His first concert was a jazz concert in the Rose Garden at the Des Moines Art Center. He was introduced to the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show in 1964 . At 14 George began to embrace rock music and attend concerts. The 1969 Denver Pop Festival at Mile High Stadium in Denver Colorado was George's first rock festival. It was here that many of his musical preferences were born. He was introduced to The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Frank Zappa and The Mothers, Iron Butterfly and Tommy Bolin with Zepher, and Johnny Winter. The festival is most memorable as the final Jimi Hendrix Experience performance. and the precursor to Woodstock. In the years following 1969 George attended numerous concerts regularly in the Midwest, from Minneapolis to Chicago. In December 2010 he began iamnotjerry.com. after attending the Wanee Festival in 2009. Concert photography was a natural progression for George given his familiarity of the music industry as a veteran concert goer.