A hushed welcome for Sufjan and his five piece band tonight. The stage setting is dark and atmospheric with nine cathedral like windows illuminating from the back. The first half of the show is drawn completely from the new album. There is no interaction with the crowd for 75 minutes as we sit in reverential awe at the show that is set before us.
The music just envelopes you and the five piece band create a multi layered soundscape as if performed by a large orchestra. The light show and backdrop of home cinema films projected on the windows help to illustrate the concept of death that the album is largely about. It’s not a cheery topic and as is later explained death was a large part of his upbringing by his parents.
The band are all multi instrumentalists swapping between songs with the wonderful Dawn Landes (check out her solo stuff) adding guitar and harmonies.
The new album dispensed with the second half of the set has a lighter feel with a run through of oldies from across his back catalogue. Sufjan opens up during the second half and keeps us amused with stories of cosmic fungai, and dead animal piles in the garden.
The set closes with an extended Blue Bucket of Gold with the band supplemented with the vast organ high up in the venue reinforcing the church like atmosphere and an amazing light show strobing around the venue.
Highlights from the second half of the show for me are John Wayne Gacy Jr and Chicago but it’s the first half show that will stay in the mind. As a piece of music it’s perfect and well balanced and reminiscent of The Decemberists ‘Hazards of Love’ as a complete entity.
The venue tonight was perfect for the show with its great acoustics and size to absorb the visuals we are presented with.
It’s a near religious spiritual experience and I for one can’t wait to worship at the altar of Mr Stevens again. A unique and special night.