Sufjan Stevens at the Kennedy Center
It was awesome, I was lucky enough to get tickets near the front to the performance of...
The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC celebrated the tenth anniversary of their Millennium Stage concert series yesterday evening. The celebration consisted of a set of four free engagements, concluding with an exclusive show featuring the folksinger Sufjan Stevens supported by members of the Opera House Orchestra. Judging from the people who camped out in the ticket line for up to eighteen hours last week, Sufjan’s performance was the most popular of the four.
While waiting for the show to begin, the “urban-casual” Sufjan crowd mingled in the enormous Grand Foyer merging with attendees of the previous performances who were often wearing suits or evening gowns. A good deal of the crowd ambled upstairs to the terrace level, where the atmosphere was especially festive with an abundance of free desserts and two chocolate fountains all sponsored by a national retail chain.
At 8:30, the concert staff opened the doors to the Opera House auditorium. Inside, while it contained seating for 2,300 people, the auditorium was not overwhelmingly expansive or opulent; rather, it seemed more intimate, with its sloped floor ideal for experiencing a live performance. Above the room, a Lobmeyr crystal chandelier from Austria hung from the domed ceiling. At the front, a distinctive red and gold silk curtain hung on the stage.
After a greeting from Michael Kaiser, the president of the Kennedy Center, the curtain lifted from the stage to reveal conductor Rob Moose and orchestra seated to the left, and a grand piano and Sufjan Steven’s other supporting musicians to the right. Stevens entered the stage and abruptly bowed to the cheering crowd. Then, he sat down in front of the piano.
He began to play the first track from his well-known album Illinois “Concerning the UFO Sighting at Highland” a trembling piano and voice composition. This song fittingly blended into an instrumental piece with the orchestra called “The Black Hawk War…” the second track from Illinois [buy].
Having finished the medley, the band stopped. Sufjan sipped some water and stood to speak for a minute, welcoming the crowd to the show. He proceeded to mention his home state Michigan to introduce the next song from his 2003 album about his home state Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State [buy]
Suddenly, the vibrant song “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head” filled the hall with its energetic arrangement and forceful rhythm that almost could have awakened the home of Motown from its economic hibernation. In the middle of this invigorating arrangement, the saxophonist Hideaki Aomori performed an impressive solo to further the awakening call.
Having fully awakened the attending audience at least, Sufjan backed by Annie Clark's vocals soothed everyone’s mesmerized eardrums with the bittersweet acoustic-folk of “Casmir Pulaski Day”. The punctuated beat of “Dear Mr. Supercomputer” from the Avalanche [buy] followed, showcasing percussionist James Mcalister’s impressive ability on the drums. The live version was instrumental except for when Sufjan managed to sing over the accompaniment “1-2-3-4-5-6-7/All computers go to heaven” alluding to a line from the Beatles’ “You Never Give Me Your Money”.
Immediately after the cacophonous conclusion of “Dear Mr. Supercomputer”, Sufjan segued into the guitar chords of “Predatory Wasp of Palisades”, and began singing its haunting melody. The orchestra soon joined in with delicate dissonance in an arrangement that was alternately calming and uplifting. This contrast was surprisingly surpassed by the breathtaking "Seven Swans" from the album with the same name, Seven Swans [buy]. The song began as a hushed mournful ballad which crescendoed to a dramatic chorus accompanied by James Mcalister's crashing cymbals, Sufjan's fiery piano chords, and Rob Moose's orchestra at a forte. Annie Clark passionately played along on the bass guitar to complete this dazzling soundscape impossible to reproduce on any artificial sound system.
The finale "Majesty Snowbird" was equally astounding. It was a new, unreleased song that sounded far better as a live performance than as a bland bootleg recording. It climaxed triumphantly, with the instruments resounding all throughout the hall. The piano began to shake from the force of Sufjan's chords, and the floor itself began to shake from the colossal wall of sound.
Disappointedly, "Majesty Snowbird" was the final song with no encore performance that could have been one of Sufjan's other outstanding songs like "Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts", "They Are Night Zombies..." or "No Man's Land". Even without an encore, the concert was still unforgettable. Backed by a score of talented musicians, Sufjan performed the songs he did proficiently both instrumentally and vocally--even his live falsetto was strong.
Towards the end of the set, Sufjan made a fitting comment that was easy for people to make music about the money, forgetting that music should be a gift for everyone to hear and experience. Accomplished musicians like Sufjan, who transcend the commercial music business by seeing music as an end in and of itself, are the ones that truly deserve the support of loyal fans.
Sufjan Stevens
Kennedy Center, 05 Feb 2007
Kennedy Center, 05 Feb 2007
The Kennedy Center in Washington, DC celebrated the tenth anniversary of their Millennium Stage concert series yesterday evening. The celebration consisted of a set of four free engagements, concluding with an exclusive show featuring the folksinger Sufjan Stevens supported by members of the Opera House Orchestra. Judging from the people who camped out in the ticket line for up to eighteen hours last week, Sufjan’s performance was the most popular of the four.
While waiting for the show to begin, the “urban-casual” Sufjan crowd mingled in the enormous Grand Foyer merging with attendees of the previous performances who were often wearing suits or evening gowns. A good deal of the crowd ambled upstairs to the terrace level, where the atmosphere was especially festive with an abundance of free desserts and two chocolate fountains all sponsored by a national retail chain.
At 8:30, the concert staff opened the doors to the Opera House auditorium. Inside, while it contained seating for 2,300 people, the auditorium was not overwhelmingly expansive or opulent; rather, it seemed more intimate, with its sloped floor ideal for experiencing a live performance. Above the room, a Lobmeyr crystal chandelier from Austria hung from the domed ceiling. At the front, a distinctive red and gold silk curtain hung on the stage.
After a greeting from Michael Kaiser, the president of the Kennedy Center, the curtain lifted from the stage to reveal conductor Rob Moose and orchestra seated to the left, and a grand piano and Sufjan Steven’s other supporting musicians to the right. Stevens entered the stage and abruptly bowed to the cheering crowd. Then, he sat down in front of the piano.
He began to play the first track from his well-known album Illinois “Concerning the UFO Sighting at Highland” a trembling piano and voice composition. This song fittingly blended into an instrumental piece with the orchestra called “The Black Hawk War…” the second track from Illinois [buy].
Having finished the medley, the band stopped. Sufjan sipped some water and stood to speak for a minute, welcoming the crowd to the show. He proceeded to mention his home state Michigan to introduce the next song from his 2003 album about his home state Greetings From Michigan: The Great Lake State [buy]
Suddenly, the vibrant song “Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head” filled the hall with its energetic arrangement and forceful rhythm that almost could have awakened the home of Motown from its economic hibernation. In the middle of this invigorating arrangement, the saxophonist Hideaki Aomori performed an impressive solo to further the awakening call.
Having fully awakened the attending audience at least, Sufjan backed by Annie Clark's vocals soothed everyone’s mesmerized eardrums with the bittersweet acoustic-folk of “Casmir Pulaski Day”. The punctuated beat of “Dear Mr. Supercomputer” from the Avalanche [buy] followed, showcasing percussionist James Mcalister’s impressive ability on the drums. The live version was instrumental except for when Sufjan managed to sing over the accompaniment “1-2-3-4-5-6-7/All computers go to heaven” alluding to a line from the Beatles’ “You Never Give Me Your Money”.
Immediately after the cacophonous conclusion of “Dear Mr. Supercomputer”, Sufjan segued into the guitar chords of “Predatory Wasp of Palisades”, and began singing its haunting melody. The orchestra soon joined in with delicate dissonance in an arrangement that was alternately calming and uplifting. This contrast was surprisingly surpassed by the breathtaking "Seven Swans" from the album with the same name, Seven Swans [buy]. The song began as a hushed mournful ballad which crescendoed to a dramatic chorus accompanied by James Mcalister's crashing cymbals, Sufjan's fiery piano chords, and Rob Moose's orchestra at a forte. Annie Clark passionately played along on the bass guitar to complete this dazzling soundscape impossible to reproduce on any artificial sound system.
The finale "Majesty Snowbird" was equally astounding. It was a new, unreleased song that sounded far better as a live performance than as a bland bootleg recording. It climaxed triumphantly, with the instruments resounding all throughout the hall. The piano began to shake from the force of Sufjan's chords, and the floor itself began to shake from the colossal wall of sound.
Disappointedly, "Majesty Snowbird" was the final song with no encore performance that could have been one of Sufjan's other outstanding songs like "Man of Metropolis Steals Our Hearts", "They Are Night Zombies..." or "No Man's Land". Even without an encore, the concert was still unforgettable. Backed by a score of talented musicians, Sufjan performed the songs he did proficiently both instrumentally and vocally--even his live falsetto was strong.
Towards the end of the set, Sufjan made a fitting comment that was easy for people to make music about the money, forgetting that music should be a gift for everyone to hear and experience. Accomplished musicians like Sufjan, who transcend the commercial music business by seeing music as an end in and of itself, are the ones that truly deserve the support of loyal fans.
Labels: live, Sufjan Stevens
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