Volcano Choir @ The 9:30 Club

"This is going to be a religious experience."

I almost didn't attend this concert. Last Thursday, I was scrolling through my twitter feed while half asleep in bed. I saw a submission from r/washingtondc of someone offering up a free ticket to the Volcano Choir show at the 9:30 Club. The submission had been posted for 7 hours and no one had claimed the ticket. I joked in my message, "I bet if you had posted anything about VC being related to Bon Iver, everyone would have jumped". While true, luckily the submitter was just like me: she wanted the ticket to go to someone who was a fan Volcano Choir, not necessarily Bon Iver. We met up and she took me up on my other for my spare City and Colour ticket for Tuesday. It was another successful Reddit experience to add to my list. I'm hoping this will pan out into have a real concert buddy in DC.

Around 4PM yesterday, the weather went haywire and thoughts were pondered on facebook about whether the "9th plague of Egypt was invoked upon us by God". Less eloquently put, it poured. I listened to Repave during my last hour at work, accompanied by green tea and dark chocolate, with the rain battering against our office windows. The right mood was present.

The doors opened at 7PM and I was right on time. Upon first arriving, there were approximately twenty folks ahead of me, some with umbrellas, some without. This was fair. I had high ambitions of getting a front row spot, but it was possibly a pipe dream. When we were let into the venue, I scored a second row spot, and I thought, "this will do".

I maintain the opinion that the only downside to attending concerts by yourself is all the waiting by yourself. A man in the front row started making "pacts" and "forming unions" with the other front row attendees - it was sacred territory and no one was to push their way through.. I started chatting with him and another guy about all the other amazing music that exists in today's world. I got scolded for disliking the new Local Natives' album (I'll have to give it another shot), was given recommendations to listen to Beth Orton and Kathleen Edwards and called them out for not knowing who The Shouting Matches or DeYarmond Edison were. After giving them their space and proving I was worthy of a front row spot, they opened one up for me.

Sylvan Esso opened and more than deserved to. Currently, they have two songs on the internet, Hey Mami + Play It Right and I can't get enough of either of them. Based on what we saw, the rest of their eventual release will also be fantastic. The stage presence was playful - I adored Amelia's fun attitude and dancing. Nicholas not only did a front row shout out, but also encouraged everyone to turn the last 15 minutes into a "dance party". Unfortunately, akin to Seattle, DC doesn't really dance at shows either. I told my front row friend once their set ended, "when they headline a show here next year, I'll also be in the front row for that". Hold me to it.

After the opening, our suspicions were confirmed. NPR was in attendance to film Volcano Choir's act. The videographer set up shop right in front of me. I'm really hoping I end up on this concert video - as they usually feature the audience as well.

Luckily for us, it was a short waiting period before Volcano Choir entered. While most of the audience was holding their breath for that first look at Justin, I don't think I let it out until the entire band assembled on the stage. I drew in more deep breaths as Tiderays started playing - we were in for a religious experience and I knew it was my only chance to compose myself before the music picked up. Tiderays was the perfect opening song for this show, much like it is the perfect opening song for Repave.

Comrade encapsulated everyone into this drugged-out trance state and it was the first (but, not last) time during the night where this happened. I looked around a few times and across the venue, people had the same exact look on their face and in their eyes. When Justin crooned with the synth at the end of the song, I experienced goosebumps running down my arms.

Keel, while being my least favorite song off of Repave, gave off this aura of comfort. I leaned over to my front row friend and expressed that "I had never felt more anchored in my life".

The song that stole the show was, surprisingly, Alaskans. This is another slower song off of Repave, yet it showcases so much of Justin's abilities. However, the audience cohesively singing "Rely, rely, rely, rely, behave, behave, behave, behave/ Decide, decide, decide, decide, repave, repave, repave, repave/ Inside, inside, inside, inside, the lade, the lade, the lade, the lade" at all the right moments and with all the right sound was *magic*. Even the band was floored at how perfect the audience participation felt - they quipped about how they should have recorded the vocals then and there.

The entire concert was building up to Byegone. Or, more importantly, that moment a little over half way through the song, where we're all bellowing "SET SAIL" with our hands up in the air. At this point, I was emotionally exhausted. The closing song was Almanac. I appreciated how the concert opened and closed with Repave's opening and closing songs.

By the end of the night, Volcano Choir played everything off of Repave, Island, IS, Still and two new songs. I'm relieved that new music, or "songs without a home yet" will be coming in the future. The two new songs sounded more rock, which demonstrates the vast range of styles this band can pull off.

To close, I want to express how grateful I am to have seen Justin Vernon in a more intimate setting. Having a front and center spot, meant seeing all the intricate details that did nothing but add to the experience: his moleskine which he referenced every song (in which, we can only wonder what brilliance is contained within), the way he'd kneel behind the podium after a particularly emotional song, the crocheted piece of art covering his podium, and how he didn't speak to the audience at all during the show. Volcano Choir isn't Justin Vernon, it's absolutely not Bon Iver and and there was never any doubt of that.