In my last post I lamented about how I have been sliding into a musical recession per se. Well, it seems like the powers that be in the musical realm looked upon my loss of faith and delivered a veritable pillar of fire for me yesterday.
My wife and I met my parents and aunt and uncle downtown for the event of my uncle and I's birthday. It was a low key but excellent night- we went to a delicious Asian-fusion restaurant and then took a walk downtown. My mother and aunt lead us towards the Chicago theatre, and wouldn't you know it, Sufjan Stevens was playing! As we walked through the throngs of thin hooded, bearded, bespectacled hipsters, I said out loud "Man, it would be awesome to go to that show!"
My mother than responded by saying "We're going" and whipped out tickets for all of us. SURPRISE OF THE CENTURY. It turns out my aunt and her had been planning this event for my uncle and I for nigh on two months, and I had absolutely no idea. With twenty minutes till show time, and with me erupting in 8 year old Christmas morning glee, we rushed into the theatre and found our seats.
The show started with a good, but ultimately forgettable acoustic-guitar-and-guy opener who sung about repressed childhood experiences and spoke in metaphors. He played for about twenty minutes, and then the main event arrived. Sufjan Stevens started off the show with the apocalyptic Seven Swans- and let me tell you, you haven't heard it until you've heard it live. The album version of the song is excellent, but the live version included much of the instrumental accompaniment that has become a trademark of Stevens' work since his beloved Illinoise album. My family and I were immediately blown away.
Stevens presented as a remarkably likable stage persona. I have been listening to him for years and have always thought his music was excellent, but expected that he would be an arrogant and self-obsessed indie diva- after all, he is one of the standard-bearers of the independent scene. He was surprisingly open and explained how he had struggled with song writing for the past year. His voice was also surprisingly normal- I expected it to be high and more effeminate-much like his singing voice- but he came across as a relatable
person.
Most of the songs Stevens played were from his brand-new The Age of Adz album. For those who haven't heard it, Adz is extremely different than anything Steven's has done before- it's mostly electronic and has a lot of white noise and synthetic sounds. Those who love Steven's for his more folkish stuff might be immediately turned off by the album. As Stevens played, he was accompanied by abstract, psychedelic images and vivid light shows. It was truly a spectacle to behold.
Stevens was kind enough to explain much of his inspiration for his new songs throughout the night. He told us that alot of inspiration came from the works of Royal Robertson, an "outsider artist" with paranoid schizophrenia who was once happily married and had a large family, but drove his family away due to his extreme delusions (aliens, apocalyptic prophecy, accusations of unfaithfulness towards his spouse). Robertson's painting included a lot of violence, spaceships, and Biblical end-time imagery. Looking at the songs from this perspective, you could see a lot of tragic beauty in the songs Stevens played throughout the night.
I will be honest- at first I was a little turned off by Steven's new music. I hadn't picked up his new album yet, so most of the songs he played were entirely new. Stevens seemed to empathize with the audience, and even said "I'm up here playing all this weird electronic stuff and you guys are thinking "Where's the banjo?!". I have his new album now, and after seeing him live and hearing him explain much of the inspiration behind it, I can truly say it is a masterwork. Stevens does so many new things with the album and still retains the excellent lyrics he's know for.
Of course, Stevens played all the classics after the obligatory audience encore. I got to see him play Chicago at the Chicago Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. I couldn't believe that happened. He also played my all-time favorite Stevens song, Casimir Pulaski Day and it more beautiful and sad live than it is on the album. He closed the show on an ominous note with John Wayne Gacy, Jr. which was a great way to go out as it retained the theme of the tortured individual as artist that Stevens conveyed throughout the show.
All in all, bravo Mr. Stevens, bravo! You are truly an excellent artist and I look forward to hearing your music as the years go on. I will definitely see Stevens in concert again if I ever get the chance.
Here are few more pictures I took throughout the night, and I'm working on uploading some video footage now, so if you read this blog and no videos are up they should be here shortly.
YAAAAAAAAAY!
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