The tallest man, the broadest shoulders
Or, An Exposition on the Connexion Between Illinois and Sydney; or, If I was a Woman, I Would Want to Marry Sufjan.
Otherworldly is one way to describe Sufjan Stevens’ music. Banjo-fuelled, brass-pumped, gorgeous indie-pop chaos might be another. Whichever one you pick sort of depends on the song you’re listening to. Either way, beauty and awesomeness are the common denominators, and that’s what we got when we went to his third and final Sydney concert at the State Theatre on Monday.
The night opened quietly – Sufjan walked onstage, sat himself at the grand piano, and played a quiet, lilting version of Romulus, a song of shame and grandfathers dying in hospital gowns. I remember the chords echoed off the walls and you could almost hear people blinking as the final notes rang out, just before the applause lifted. Without breaking, the curtains then came up and we were taken from the sublime to the thunderous crescendo of Seven Swans. The rest of the show was a solid two hours of music fantastic, encompassing the poetry and horror of a piano version of John Wayne Gacey, Jr to the awesome awesome AWESOME brass staccato madness of Come On, Feel The Illinois!...and three encores.
We also got to hear some stuff not on his CDs, like the experimental tone poem BQE (accompanied by what I assume is an original video clip of the song’s namesake) and the majesty of Majesty, Snowbird, which is one of my favourite songs now.
When he is not singing, Sufjan seemed quiet and unassuming, and a little nervous (he kept wiping sweat from his face and mentioned, at one interlude, that he doesn’t know how to end banter). But, he did give a very entertaining intro to The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us! involving macaroni and cheese, toilet paper dolls, and about a thousand swiss cake rolls:
”...and I was, like, ‘No way, man, that’s not Doctor Spock. It’s Madonna…and she’s singing ‘Borderline’...and he was, like, “That’s not Madonna…it’s the predatory wasp of the Palisades, and it’s out to get us!”
I was surprised at how much stuff he played from Seven Swans, his quieter, reflective, more overtly Christian album. The title song made a most excellent live song, completely with a projected video of stars melting in and out of constellations; I was happy about the simple and repetitious All the Trees of the Field Will Clap their Hands making it into the set list; and Lorien was excited when, for his final final encore, Sufjan played a bare version of The Dress Looks Nice on You.
I have not seen many gigs in my time – however, it will be very difficult for anyone to top the perfection that was Sufjan Stevens on January 14, 2008.
Set list (sort-of in order):
- Romulus
- Seven Swans
- Concerning the UFO Sighting in Highland, Illinois
- The Black Hawk War, or, How to Demolish an Entire Civilization and Still Feel Good About Yourself in the Morning, or, We Apologize for the Inconvenience but You’re Going to Have to Leave Now, or, ‘I Have Fought the Big Knives and Will Continue to Fight Them Until They Are Off Our Lands!’
- Come On, Feel the Illinois! (‘The World’s Columbian Exposition’ and ‘Carl Sandburg Visits Me In A Dream’, separated by a mad saxophone solo)
- Casimir Pulaski Day
- All The Trees of The Field Will Clap their Hands
- Jacksonville
- BQE
- The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us!
- John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
- The Lord God Bird
- Barn Owl, Nightkiller
- Majesty, Snowbird
First encore:
- Chicago
Second encore:
- To Be Alone With You
Third encore:
- The Dress Looks Nice on You