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YouTube right now! Bon Iver at AIR Studio

No one should have to ask who Bon Iver is after watching this stunning, 25-minute performance. 

 

Austin Powell

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Posted on Feb 17, 2012   Updated on Jun 2, 2021, 9:15 pm CDT

In YouTube Right Now, the Daily Dot looks at videos that catch our eyes, push our buttons, and move our dials—and that you’ve just got to watch. Right now!

The next time someone asks “Who is Bon Iver”—sincerely or for ironic effect—please kindly redirect him or her to this video.

“Bon Iver at AIR Studio” captures the recent Grammy winner’s core duo of songwriter Justin Vernon and Sean Carey on grand pianos performing a live five-song medley that includes a startling rendition of Bonnie Raitt’s “I Can’t Make You Love Me,” with refined poise and pin-drop clarity. Quite simply, as YouTuber dontforgetthedream surmised, it’s “24 minutes & 45 seconds of straight goosebumps.”

The video’s summary elaborated further:

“Recorded in AIR Studio’s Lyndurst Hall – a building that was originally a church and missionary school designed in 1880 by the great Victorian architect Alfred Waterhouse (designer of the Natural History Museum) – Vernon was joined only by Carey, with the pair positioning themselves opposite one another at two grand pianos. Although neither Justin nor Sean’s first instrument is piano, they were able to remodel the songs in a way that showcases their complimentary vocals and, perhaps more strikingly, a seemingly effortless ability to experiment with form and structure.”

Directed by Iain Forsyth & Jane Pollard in October of last year, the video’s view count is currently locked at 303—a well-reported YouTube bug that indicates the clip’s popularity is currently overwhelming the site’s servers.

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*First Published: Feb 17, 2012, 1:19 pm CST