Kevin Bronson on October 30th, 2011

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Even for those who think that the music of Bon Iver is akin to merely a good book – and not the Good Book – there’s was worshipful atmosphere on Sept. 20 when Justin Vernon and crew blew in from Wisconsin, his improbable rise from backwoods troubadour to headliner/Kanye West’s bud/Minister of Introspection reading like a lost gospel.

• ||| Photos by Debi Del Grande

There was nary a chorus of dissenters as Vernon and his estimable backing band, which included Arcade Fire collaborator Colin Stetson on horns, wove the frozen ballads of his debut “For Emma, Forever Ago” into a set with his intricately orchestrated new material. It’s either yacht rock for the Newest Age or the sum of the Beach Boys, Van Morrison and Phil Collins, depending whether you’re a true believer, but there was no question that, on a backbone of dual percussion, strings and echoing guitars, Bon Iver delivered more than an hour and half of spine-tingling moments. Twinkle and shimmer, then twinkle and shimmer some more.

For his part, Vernon was aw-shucks at the adulation poured upon him, and his aching/soaring tenor gave it back in mere comfort. “Danger has been stole away,” Vernon sang in the arresting “Beth/Rest,” and on this night it was true.

Opener Other Lives was every bit as good, if not better. The Oklahoma quintet, grown to six members now for its live show, brought to life the tracks from its breathtaking album “Tamer Animals,” its philharmonic scope and indelible imagery begging for more compelling visuals and, though, settling nicely for those it creates in the imagination.

||| Live: Other Lives returns to L.A. as part of the Dec. 2 program at “Are Friends Eclectic?,” the KCRW holiday benefit show. The two-night affair at the Orpheum features Jimmy Cliff, Brett Dennen, Other Lives, Fool’s Gold, Mia Doi Todd and White Denim on Friday, Dec. 2, and Iron & Wine, Anna Calvi, the Belle Brigade, Secret Sisters, Zee Avi and more on Dec. 3.