Tickets went on sale last week for The New Yorker festival, the annual roundelay of uber-cultured readings, panels, concerts & events which -- much like The New Yorker itself -- are perhaps a bit too self-consciously about Culture with a capital C rather than about the culture (lower case c) that they are presenting. Apologies for editorializing. I mean they did manage to get Liturgy and Dirty Projectors on the same bill, which is a pretty special thing. And they were also able to book this guy:
Beyond the weird & wonderful convergence that will be Dirty Projectors' concert, the performance by Bon Iver (aka Justin Vernon) is the festival entrant I am most looking forward to catching. Wish me luck snagging tickets! (And yes, I'll be honest this post is mostly a lame excuse to show you the heart-arresting wonder that is that video clip. Note that it's not an original but a cover of a song by Nashville songwriter Sarah Siskind which he used to close out most of his 2008 tour dates.) Below comes another performance of the same song -- this one with Siskind herself on guest vocals. I have a slight preference for the first version posted above, but the wordless melodies that kick in right after the 2:30 mark of the second video are something special.
