Bon Iver Day declared in Milwaukee as band kicks off tour

By Andrea Swensson Fri., Jul. 22 2011 at 7:00 AM

Categories: Bon Iver

Photo via the Milwaukee Bucks

Aside from a few late-night TV stops, Bon Iver has yet to christen their sophomore album, the much lauded and hotly debated Bon Iver, Bon Iver, with a proper live show. That will all change this weekend when the band takes up a two-night residency at the Riverside Theater in Milwaukee, where they will perform tonight and tomorrow night before heading out onto the road for a tour that will bring them to the Orpheum Theatre in Minneapolis on September 6 and 7.

To celebrate, Milwaukee's mayor Tom Barrett has decided to make a whole damn day of it. Much in the tradition of Minneapolis mayor R.T. Rybak's proclamations of First Avenue Day, Suicide Commandos Day and the like, Barrett has decreed that today shall be known across all the land (or at least the Land of Sky Blue Waters) as Bon Iver Day.

Here is his proclamation:

    The City of Milwaukee joins community members and supporting fans on the occasion of Bon Iver's international tour kicking off at the Riverside Theater on Friday, July 22, 2011; and,
    WHEREAS, Bon Iver was founded in 2007 by Justin Vernon in his hometown of Eau Claire, Wisconsin, where he continues to record music in a new state-of-the-art recording studio; and,
    WHEREAS, Bon Iver's music embraces Justin Vernon's Wisconsin heritage, as he has become an international ambassador for both Milwaukee and Wisconsin, while they travel across the world playing music and interact with national media; and,
    WHEREAS, Bon Iver's self-titled album debuted at number two on the Billboard charts in June 2011, and has gained attention from The New York Times, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, SPIN Magazine, "Late Night with David Letterman", "The Colbert Report" and "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart"; and,
    WHEREAS, The City of Milwaukee joins supporting fans to enjoy the entertaining performance of Bon Iver and commends the band for their musical accomplishments;
    NOW, THEREFORE, I, TOM BARRETT, Mayor of the City of Milwaukee, do hereby proclaim Friday, July 22, 2011, to be
    BON IVER DAY throughout the City of Milwaukee.
    TOM BARRETT Mayor

The nine-piece live formation of Bon Iver has been in Milwaukee all week preparing for their inaugural shows, and they even took some time out of their rehearsal schedule to bond over hoops at the Milwaukee Bucks' training center. Check out Minneapolis saxophonist Michael Lewis and the rest of the crew decked out in custom jerseys:

For more on Bon Iver's Milwaukee tour kick-off shows, come back to Gimme Noise on Monday morning, when we will post a recap and photos from the shows.

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