sufjan

Last night we drove to Indianapolis to see Sufjan Stevens. It was the first time for either of us to see him perform live, and he met and exceeded our expectations with a fantastic show.

I didn't take any pictures or video, but here's a video my brother blogged after he saw the show.

We arrived at the theater around 8:45, and had to wait in the will call line for about half an hour, missing DM Stith's opening act. After we got seated, our friends from Upland came in and were seated behind us, which was a pleasant surprise. We had nice seats, and we loved the venue (where the Indy Symphony performs).

Sufjan started playing around 9:45. (And the baby started dancing in my womb! No, seriously. The baby was moving like crazy with all that noise.) To be honest, at 10:30 I started having a hard time keeping my eyes open (getting old?), which is kind of ridiculous considering how loud the show was and how the stage lights kept shining in my eyes, not to mention how awesome the show was. But it's true, during "Impossible Soul" (the 25 minute song) I couldn't last and took a little three minutes catnap on Jack's shoulder. After that I was much better.

I wished Suf would have played "I Want to be Well," and Jack was kind of hoping that "The Owl and the Tanager" was going to show up in the encore. But we really can't complain. For the encore, about six of the band members came to the front of the stage and stood in a semicircle, doing simple acoustic versions of songs from Illinois and Seven Swans. They played our favorites.

In the car on the way home, we talked about the set design and props and dancers, the kitschyness of some aspects, and what it all meant. We compared the show to other shows we've seen. Andrew Bird? Danielson? Iron and Wine with Calexico? Watching Joanna Newsom perform Ys is really the only show that comes close in creativity, but as creative as those songs are, her performance of them wasn't nearly as creative as Sufjan's performance was.

Then we also talked about that time at the Hollywood Bowl when I took a little nap during the Shins and Belle and Sebastian concert. I wasn't "getting old" (it was right around my 25th birthday), or pregnant then. But I had had two glasses of wine. And have you ever been to the Hollywood Bowl? It's perfect, the perfect California evening, getting dark, and soft music...
Jack suggested that maybe I should make a goal of taking a nap in as many great shows as possible. Sounds perfect to me.