Thursday, November 09, 2006
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
Sufjan Stevens in London
(From Friday 3rd November 2006)
Ok, so after months of frantically F5-ing the Sufjan page on seetickets in hope of getting any more tickets, I finally got my golden ticket to this highly-anticipated, highly popular, highly sold-out gig, which unquestionably lived up to its expectations.
This was my second Sufjan Stevens concert I’ve been to now, which I honestly think is pretty good considering his rare appearances in the UK. He’s busy though, I can understand. The first was with his dazzling ‘Illinoisemakers’ in October last year, which was a bit easier to get tickets for. This time round though, now Soofyahn has made quite a name for himself in the Indie-pop scene owing to film soundtracks and stirring appraisal from reputable music reviewers, and tickets have been snapped up like candy bars.
There are too many staggering moments to mention from that night; Sufjan’s hilarious rants, that amazing drum solo, and that moment in Majesty, Snowbird when the air guitar kicks in “NYYEE-OWW”. My pictures came out really badly, despite the surprisingly excellent seats we got (link at the bottom). We were sitting in the front row of the balcony so it was nice to just lean forward and gaze at the beautifully decorated set of butterfly wings. To see each of them moving about in them was enchanting, particularly the guitarists at the back, the angelic Annie Clark (St. Vincent) on keyboards, and Suffy swaying back and forth throughout the hypnotic All the Trees in the Field Will Clap Their Hands.
He opened the 16-song set with a short introduction of crescendo-ing sounds that built up an anticipation that nearly made me wet my pants, then without any dilly-dallying went straight in Sister (still with his Blue Peter-esque assembled mask on), which is one of my favourites, so I screamed a quick "Whoo!" in my brothers ear.
Here’s the setlist. It might not be perfectly accurate, but it’s pretty damn close…
1) Sufjan Stevens – Sister
2) Sufjan Stevens – The Transfiguration
3) Sufjan Stevens – The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
4) Sufjan Stevens – The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders
5) Sufjan Stevens – Casimir Pulaski Day
6) Sufjan Stevens – All the Trees in the Field will Clap their Hands
7) Sufjan Stevens – Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
8) Sufjan Stevens – The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! ("-Is it a UFO?, -I don't think soooo")
9) Sufjan Stevens – John Wayne Gacy Jr
10) Sufjan Stevens – That Was the Worst Christmas Ever
11) Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
12) Sufjan Stevens – Majesty, Snowbird
13) Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
ENCORE:
14) Sufjan Stevens – Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
15) Sufjan Stevens – The Dress Looks Nice on You
16) Sufjan Stevens – Jacksonville
He set the mood with an emotive presence in every song, either telling nonsensically long and detailed stories that wander into amusing self-occupied digressions of a perpetually stoned daydreamer’s blog, or just filling the pause between each song with a subtle-repressed-and-hesitant “thanks”. And then he would take hold of every song as if it were his only worthy possession with a shy and yet unabashed approach, with whispered breaths that echo around the space of the concert hall. Probably the most tearjerking moment was at the end of the noisy climax of The Predatory Wasp when the screen reeled footage of a boy playing with his kite. Heart-rending...
The inclusion of the blow-up (squeaky) Santa Claus and Supermen dolls was a nice added celebratory touch to the show. Sufjan and his cohorts dispersed these two huge piles over the audience during Metropolis and That Was the Worst Christmas Ever. To the introduce the latter, Sufjan mentions how he made Christmas albums for his friends and family instead of buying them presents, and then throws out the blow-up Santa’s asking audience to pass them backwards like beach balls.
Most of the songs were beautifully arranged for brass ensemble, and it was wonderful to hear the likes of The Transfiguration and Detroit in their fullest textures and tightest executions, and even The Dress Looks Nice on You sounds prepossessing at its simplest. Concerning the UFO Sighting was also a gorgeous moment from Sufjan on solo piano, and his performance of Seven Swans was amazingly compelling. I was having prophetic visions by that point…
No, he did not play The Mistress Witch, or anything from The Avalanche.
Yes, I wanted to hear What Goes On.
Majesty, Snowbird was the showpece and my personal highlight. The song is so gloriously EPIC, it really went down a storm with the audience, and without exaggeration, it made this concert one of the best musical experiences of my life.
Please come back soon...
10/10
Ok, so after months of frantically F5-ing the Sufjan page on seetickets in hope of getting any more tickets, I finally got my golden ticket to this highly-anticipated, highly popular, highly sold-out gig, which unquestionably lived up to its expectations.
This was my second Sufjan Stevens concert I’ve been to now, which I honestly think is pretty good considering his rare appearances in the UK. He’s busy though, I can understand. The first was with his dazzling ‘Illinoisemakers’ in October last year, which was a bit easier to get tickets for. This time round though, now Soofyahn has made quite a name for himself in the Indie-pop scene owing to film soundtracks and stirring appraisal from reputable music reviewers, and tickets have been snapped up like candy bars.
There are too many staggering moments to mention from that night; Sufjan’s hilarious rants, that amazing drum solo, and that moment in Majesty, Snowbird when the air guitar kicks in “NYYEE-OWW”. My pictures came out really badly, despite the surprisingly excellent seats we got (link at the bottom). We were sitting in the front row of the balcony so it was nice to just lean forward and gaze at the beautifully decorated set of butterfly wings. To see each of them moving about in them was enchanting, particularly the guitarists at the back, the angelic Annie Clark (St. Vincent) on keyboards, and Suffy swaying back and forth throughout the hypnotic All the Trees in the Field Will Clap Their Hands.
He opened the 16-song set with a short introduction of crescendo-ing sounds that built up an anticipation that nearly made me wet my pants, then without any dilly-dallying went straight in Sister (still with his Blue Peter-esque assembled mask on), which is one of my favourites, so I screamed a quick "Whoo!" in my brothers ear.
Here’s the setlist. It might not be perfectly accurate, but it’s pretty damn close…
1) Sufjan Stevens – Sister
2) Sufjan Stevens – The Transfiguration
3) Sufjan Stevens – The Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts
4) Sufjan Stevens – The Tallest Man, the Broadest Shoulders
5) Sufjan Stevens – Casimir Pulaski Day
6) Sufjan Stevens – All the Trees in the Field will Clap their Hands
7) Sufjan Stevens – Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head! (Rebuild! Restore! Reconsider!)
8) Sufjan Stevens – The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out to Get Us! ("-Is it a UFO?, -I don't think soooo")
9) Sufjan Stevens – John Wayne Gacy Jr
10) Sufjan Stevens – That Was the Worst Christmas Ever
11) Sufjan Stevens – Seven Swans
12) Sufjan Stevens – Majesty, Snowbird
13) Sufjan Stevens – Chicago
ENCORE:
14) Sufjan Stevens – Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
15) Sufjan Stevens – The Dress Looks Nice on You
16) Sufjan Stevens – Jacksonville
He set the mood with an emotive presence in every song, either telling nonsensically long and detailed stories that wander into amusing self-occupied digressions of a perpetually stoned daydreamer’s blog, or just filling the pause between each song with a subtle-repressed-and-hesitant “thanks”. And then he would take hold of every song as if it were his only worthy possession with a shy and yet unabashed approach, with whispered breaths that echo around the space of the concert hall. Probably the most tearjerking moment was at the end of the noisy climax of The Predatory Wasp when the screen reeled footage of a boy playing with his kite. Heart-rending...
The inclusion of the blow-up (squeaky) Santa Claus and Supermen dolls was a nice added celebratory touch to the show. Sufjan and his cohorts dispersed these two huge piles over the audience during Metropolis and That Was the Worst Christmas Ever. To the introduce the latter, Sufjan mentions how he made Christmas albums for his friends and family instead of buying them presents, and then throws out the blow-up Santa’s asking audience to pass them backwards like beach balls.
Most of the songs were beautifully arranged for brass ensemble, and it was wonderful to hear the likes of The Transfiguration and Detroit in their fullest textures and tightest executions, and even The Dress Looks Nice on You sounds prepossessing at its simplest. Concerning the UFO Sighting was also a gorgeous moment from Sufjan on solo piano, and his performance of Seven Swans was amazingly compelling. I was having prophetic visions by that point…
No, he did not play The Mistress Witch, or anything from The Avalanche.
Yes, I wanted to hear What Goes On.
Majesty, Snowbird was the showpece and my personal highlight. The song is so gloriously EPIC, it really went down a storm with the audience, and without exaggeration, it made this concert one of the best musical experiences of my life.
Please come back soon...
10/10
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Badly Drawn Boy
This is my jumbled collection of memories from what was the night of Saturday 28th October when Badly Drawn Boy made a rare high profile appearance at our very own concealed cove university of Keele. He jokingly requested that no heckles were made during his set , unless they were sophisticated. The show was nonetheless enjoyable. There was a good support from Isobel Campbell (formerly from Belle & Sebastian) who gave an enchanting psychadelic-folk performance. BDB's set began a little showly with songs from his new album, and the crowd were not that responsive, until he began playing songs from hs earlier albums, but gave good salutations to the new material. The title track 'Born in the UK', which he began with has really grown on me after hearing it live. The audience warmed to Gough's sarcastic humour when the band were setting up for the next song, and it came to the fourth song in, 'Above You, Below Me' until there was a feel-good reception all round. He played classics 'The Shining', 'Once Around the Block', 'Silent Sigh', and my personal favourite from his new album 'Promises'. His solo-acoustic material is still a trademark in Badly Drawn Boy's performance, as he performs with his harmonica/brace, and jesting with the crowd like a stand-up comedian, although it was fun to see him take the mic and wander around the stage during 'All Possibilities'. My favourite part was the improvised homage in 'You Were Right' to some of the great artists of our time; so unpretentiously thought-provoking. Gough closed the set on his own with 'Magic in the Air'. It was a good laugh... despite the easy access to the bar.
Sufjan Stevens tomorrow! I'll be taking the train down to London for the weekend, before seeing the Majestic Songbird himself (in wings!!!), and his glorious Chinese Butterfly Brigade at the Barbican with Scott. I will hopefully give a longer and more detailed account afterwards (i'll remember the setlist in more detail this time).
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