Sufjan Stevens

Wednesday night, Sufjan Stevens performed at The Fox in Atlanta. The Fox is a beautiful venue and very well kept. This is kind of bittersweet for a concert in my opinion, because while it’s a cool room to see a show in, people tend to be more reserved. Everyone sat and took in the show as if it were a symphonic performance (though Sufjan did have a string section and a brass section) only with loud cheering after each song, instead of gentle applause. I suppose his style of music lends itself to this environment, but I still felt funny sitting at a “rock” concert.

We arrived early enough to get in, grab a way overpriced plastic cup of Sweetwater 420 (the only beer available, it was that or a $10 shot of Jager), and find our seats before the opening act, My Brightest Diamond came out. The show was sponsored by Paste Magazine and so there was a table in the lobby handing out free copies of Paste. I had a strange Hitchcock style moment before the show when I looked around the room and saw everyone sitting quietly in their seats flipping through their free copies of Paste; the gentle rustling of pages as the only sound. Okay, I’m exaggerating, but it was definitely a mini-surreal moment.

My Brightest Diamond came out, led by Shara Worden, who is also a part of Sufjan’s band, promptly at 8pm. This was the first I had heard of MBD and while they had an interesting sound, they were more the background music to everyone’s arrival. People filed in, conversed, grabbed drinks, and made trips to the bathroom, which made concentration difficult. She caught most of the audience’s attention with her last few songs, though, which were more up beat.

After a brief intermission Sufjan and his 14 piece back-up band came out. All were wearing large colorful butterfly wings. In addition to his usual group of guitarist, bassist, and drummer, he hired a string section and brass section to round it all out. Instead of traveling with this many people, though, he hired different musicians in each of the cities he’s playing in. The groups receive sheet music prior to each show and then rehearse briefly beforehand, but that's it. It didn’t show, however, as the music and arrangements all went very well.

The show began with “Sister” from the album Seven Swans. This was a perfect song to start the show with, because it is an instrumental build for about 5 minutes, then cuts out and leaves Sufjan to sing and play piano. I could tell we were in for a good show.

The only problem occurred during “The Transfiguration”. The band was in full swing, when suddenly an ear shattering high pitched feedback shriek rocked the room. All of the band members jumped and nearly dropped their instruments. Sufjan mumbled a quiet, “uh, sorry” and ran off the stage. No one knew quite what to do, so to fill the new awkward silence there were intermittent screams from the audience. Soon the problem was fixed and the show was back on.

During the middle of the show, Sufjan took it down a notch playing the quiet, yet powerful songs, “Casimir Pulaski Day” and “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” from Illinois. The songs truly show Sufjan’s lyrical genius. The former is a contemplation on a friend/girlfriend who is suffering from bone cancer. The characters in the song are young, probably high school, and when the girl finally passes away, the main character ponders the amazing Grace of the Lord, with the amazing pain we face in life:

All the glory that the Lord has made
And the complications when I see His face
In the morning in the window
All the glory when He took our place
But He took my shoulders, and He shook my face,
and He takes and He takes and He takes

The latter song mentioned above, “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” is a startling portrayal of the serial killer mentioned in the title. With careful phrasing, Sufjan mentions the evils of this man only to finish with: “And in my best behavior / I am really just like him / Look beneath the floor boards / For the secrets I have hid.”

If this section of the performance showcased Sufjan’s lyrics, the next showcased his music. “Jacksonville” is a beautifully arranged song that utilized the full band. Then, arguably my favorite Sufjan song came, “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!” He prefaced the song with a short story about how it came from a time when he was at summer camp and was chased by a giant “bird wasp”. It was a funny story, told in a somewhat nervous manner. Perhaps it was the size of the room, or perhaps it was just his personality. At any rate, the song didn’t disappoint.

The evening finished with the title track from Illinois followed by a two song encore. All in all it was an excellent show and well worth the money. I’m excited to see what Sufjan comes out with next.