Seraphina Lotkhamnga on January 22nd, 2014

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The marquee outside the Fonda Theatre on Saturday night said Volcano Choir, but it could have read Bon Iver or the Shouting Matches or Gayngs or even DeYarmond Edison. All those bands are at least in part the manifestations of the talents of Justin Vernon, the indie “It” boy who won Best New Artist at the 2012 Grammys for his work as Bon Iver. And where he goes, venues tend to be sold out.

• ||| Photos by Kelsey Heng

Volcano Choir represents the beautiful relationship between Vernon and Collections of Colonies of Bees, one of the the bands that musically inspired him in the first place. Last year they released “Repave” (via Jagjaguwar), their first album since 2009’s “Unmap,” but Vernon’s distinct, melodramatic falsetto takes a back seat to ambitious post-rock in this ensemble.

Even with Vernon on lead vocals, it’s the members of Collections of Colonies of Bees that star in the Volcano Choir’s live shows. Three members surround Vernon with precise musicianship, and most of the time, they are the ones who provide the stage banter.

Volcano Choir, whose name implies something that is both ethereal and dangerous, played a breathtaking set to the capacity crowd, featuring most of their new songs such as “Tiderays,” “Acetate,” “Byegone” and more. The band even threw in a couple of songs not found in their discography like “Vallyinaire” and “Triumph.”

The raw and fossil-like backdrop that changed shades throughout the set served as a nice denominator as most of Volcano Choir’s music twisted matters of the earth and the heart together. Cementing the thoughts from “Unmap” to “Repave,” there was a sense of purity in the midst of the powerfully cathartic songs such as “Alaskans” and “Still.” Although most Vernon fans don’t seem to mind, the heavy use of vocoder on songs such as “Comrade” did dampen the rush of hearing Vernon’s lower register within an upbeat tempo for once.

Aside from unnecessary electronic flourishes, however, Volcano Choir’s sophistication echoed off the walls of the Fonda wonderfully. This especially true when the band’s encore included “Almanac” and “Youlogy,” the latter involving drummer Jon Mueller banging one of the oddly set-up cymbals like a gong while Vernon nearly sang a cappella.

Fellow Midwesterners the Cloak Ox opened the show.