sensually Suefjan
Happy new year to y'all. Hope you're all ready for a brand new, clean-slate, eaven numbered year. I think I am, I know I want to be.
Actually, confession: the real reason i write is, I have this desire to make a written note of the beautifully surreal experience of Sufjan Stevens i shared with a few hundred people in the Tivoli last night. objections? stop reading.
It was rainy, Jenni fresh from her year in Belgium was chirpy the entire car trip telling me amusing stories of her travels. We tried 3 different parks before super-parker-me finally managed to fit the elch-baby-mobil into a free space. At the door, the bloke didn't tear the ticket but just held on to it. I surprised myself with my sentimentality of ticket stubs when i asked for it back. He wasn't having any of my shit and told me i could get it back at the end. I forgot.
The support band was not bad. Two people making non intrusive music. Pretty ditties but nothing compared to what was to come. Meeting up with Liao-em busteroony and her blue eyed friend Sam the excitement was obvious in giggles and exaggerated stories. Liao led the procession through relaxed, anticipating faces until we were standing at the level to the beginning of the upper balconies. The set took a while to prepare due to the the different instruments and arrangements of Sufjan's ensemble. The first song was an instrumental. I wasn't familiar with it. A combination of strings, wind instruments and Sufjan on the piano. I am sure I wasn't the only one there hoping he'd start singing soon. He introduced himself 'as Sufjan Stevens, or more accurately 'Suefjan'' then he sang his first song and won over most of the crowd without even trying. 'Sister' was his first stong, I think. I can't accurately recount the order of the songs or the between song banter because i was swept off my feet (this doesn't help an already inaccurate memory). All i know is that it featured a sweet lyric that goes ' I have a red kite; I'll put you right in it. I'll show you the sky'
haha if you had been there heard it and felt the music, like i did, you would have melted away. Seeing as you most probably weren't, you're probably just thinking something along the lines of, 'i better go get breakfast'. ( i admit i was thinking the same thing.)
He went on to sing about an american Motorway that (I can't remember exactly: someone correct me) was built near his place. The original piece dedicated to this monster was 35 minutes. He cut it down to 4 for us. During the piece a video played of a city, cars, people, and the music became louder, more hectic and confused. It was great, but being instrumental, his voice was missing.
The performance featured quite a lot of his new stuff from the 'illinoise' album. including: Chicago(ofcourse), Jacksonville (which he interrupted half way because he forgot the words..and laughed), Feel the Illinoise. At one point an ensemble member picked up a hula hoop and began swinging her hips on stage. Not long after Sufjan himself grabbed a hoop illuminating the darkness around him with its colours. After watching these two people having childish fun on stage the audience cracked up when he mentioned, 'as you've probably gathered, much of my show relies upon public hummiliation'.
Public hummiliation followed when darling jenni couldn't contain her amazement and made some slightly suggestive noises in one of his quieter (audience deadly silent, sufjan + guitar) tracks. Let's just say everyone in the audience was thinking it, jenni just happened to be the one to voice it. haah orgasmically hilarious!
His encore was 'to be alone with you' and 'that dress looks nice on you'. The memory of his voice echoing through that old theatre, of the guy next to me telling me 'i think i'm going to cry' and feeling the music seeping through me with the comfort of warm milk on a frosty night...I think I've never felt more in love with a voice and live music itself.
Without any exaggeration I know it was the most amazing live concert I have yet witnessed.
if you get a chance to see him- Gooo.