Stereogum-snapper Adam headed to Town Hall on Friday where Sufjan Stevens kicked off a three-night residency, showing off some new tunes and some fancy wings. After My Brightest Diamond’s opening set, Mr. Indie Rock Hottie 2005 and his backing band, the “Magical Butterfly Brigade,” offered up an awe-inspiring, orchestral set. Said Adam:
The show itself was fantastic. There was a big screen displaying footage for every song Flaming Lips-style. For “Metropolis” the giant Superman S was projected while a bunch of inflatable supermen were tossed over the balcony onto everyone to toss about. Highlights of the show were “Predatory Wasp,” which came of incredibly well live, and the theme of their tour “Snowbird” which I hope someone grabs a recording of because it was great.
Someone did one better and grabbed a video of it — and it sounds fucking fantastic.
And for your iPod, here’s a live MP3 from a previous tour stop (via Rawkblog):
Falsetto melodies, interweaving harmonic arrangements, orchestral bombast — it’s all in there. But at over nine minutes we have to ask: Who’s telling Soof and Joanna to double the length of their songs?
Celebs spotted at the show included Antony (of the Johnsons), John Norris (of MTV) and Parker Posey (formerly of Ryan Adams). And while Antony’s album is named I Am A Bird Now, we think Sufjan makes a stronger case. WINGS LOOK AWESOME, DUDE!
UPDATE: Town Hall MP3s at RySpace!
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killer!!!! another sufjan stevens post. this guy is a grade A douchebag. lets talk about the killers some more.
Please, anything but Sufjan. More Yo La Tengo please…or just somebody good.
side note:
he actually ended with casimir pulaski day instead of dress looks nice on you which i hear he performed beautifully on saturday.
i thought it was the ‘chinese butterfly brigade’
thank you for the mp3; i saw soof in chicago and ive been watching the video clip of the song for my fix. its so beautiful.
i kind of started thinking soof doesnt need all that extra flaming lips-ish stuff. it almost felt too much to me.
I LOVE IT! this song is good stuff. yo la tengo need to add wings to their set. maybe bat wings. if i want to see a family sing on stage, they better be in some bat wings. erik, sufjan is not a douchebag. that is something women use to wash out their vaginas. duh. think about it. how could sufjan be that, too?
something good about sufjan died when illinoise came out
his music became alot grander and also alot less appealing
I know it’s really fun to hate things that are popular, but every once in a rare while, things are popular because they are quality. And when these quality things become popular, many more people than five will want information about them, through information conduits such as this one. Bottom line: stop complaining, it is very unbecoming.
I skipped this show at the Riv in chicago but I wish I had gone now. I miss the sufjan I saw a couple times at Schubas with 40 people, but he seems to be taking on bigger rooms in stride. Good for him.
soofy you so hott
Amazing. this guy deserves every accolade he recieves. his music was meant to be this massive, if people dont understand then they cant see the bigger vision this man has musically. sufjan is probably the most important and visionary musician we have living in the u.s. we should be grateful to have him. this song put tears in my eyes… awe inspiring
That post above me can’t be real, can it? Sufjan Stevens is alright. I like maybe one out of every four songs he writes. He’s not helping the whole secretly-gay rumor along with those wings though.
“I know it’s really fun to hate things that are popular, but every once in a rare while, things are popular because they are quality. And when these quality things become popular, many more people than five will want information about them, through information conduits such as this one. Bottom line: stop complaining, it is very unbecoming.”
Wow. Quote of the year buddy!
Have I missed another comment thread discussing wtf happened to Katrina? If so, please direct me because I’m running out of ways to procrastinate. Am I the only one who feels gypped?
haha what state is this about
[Much like God, the indie rock crowd giveth and the indie rock crowd taketh away.]
Big ups to Stereogum for not being afraid of unabashed fanboyishness.
man this guy is awesome! his music is amazint
to begin with but majesty snowbird is just a work of an angel
man this guy is awesome! his music is amazint
to begin with but majesty snowbird is just a work of an angel
man this guy is awesome! his music is amazint
to begin with but majesty snowbird is just a work of an angel
had the pleasure of seeing this performed in dublin. it is one of the most incredible songs in his repertoire. For anyone who disagrees, i believe you have a limited understanding of music theory and compostion. my advice would be education or if you’re truly that pathectic, just stick to the top 40, i.e. the Killers.
completely agree with matthew. those of you who are quick to deliver harsh complaints, putdowns, and nonsense about the killers should take a step back and realize the genius that this man is. no matter if its him and a banjo in a room of 50 or its him and an orchestral band in a room of 1000, sufjan will always be a very unique and wonderful artist. he is my favorite of all time. i realy do hope that the guy talking about the killers was kidding, the killers are, well, not to hate, but not very good. and nOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS SUFJAN. suf is a genius. those of you making rude comments about gay rumors and such should really i dont even know. fall off the face of the musical earth? go listen to what you deserve to i.e britney spears and the like.
saw him at zellerbach most recently in berkely.
changed my life and brought me to tears.
nuff said.
completely agree with matthew. those of you who are quick to deliver harsh complaints, putdowns, and nonsense about the killers should take a step back and realize the genius that this man is. no matter if its him and a banjo in a room of 50 or its him and an orchestral band in a room of 1000, sufjan will always be a very unique and wonderful artist. he is my favorite of all time. i realy do hope that the guy talking about the killers was kidding, the killers are, well, not to hate, but not very good. and nOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS SUFJAN. suf is a genius. those of you making rude comments about gay rumors and such should really i dont even know. fall off the face of the musical earth? go listen to what you deserve to i.e britney spears and the like.
saw him at zellerbach most recently in berkely.
changed my life and brought me to tears.
nuff said.
completely agree with matthew. those of you who are quick to deliver harsh complaints, putdowns, and nonsense about the killers should take a step back and realize the genius that this man is. no matter if its him and a banjo in a room of 50 or its him and an orchestral band in a room of 1000, sufjan will always be a very unique and wonderful artist. he is my favorite of all time. i realy do hope that the guy talking about the killers was kidding, the killers are, well, not to hate, but not very good. and nOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS SUFJAN. suf is a genius. those of you making rude comments about gay rumors and such should really i dont even know. fall off the face of the musical earth? go listen to what you deserve to i.e britney spears and the like.
saw him at zellerbach most recently in berkely.
changed my life and brought me to tears.
nuff said.
completely agree with matthew. those of you who are quick to deliver harsh complaints, putdowns, and nonsense about the killers should take a step back and realize the genius that this man is. no matter if its him and a banjo in a room of 50 or its him and an orchestral band in a room of 1000, sufjan will always be a very unique and wonderful artist. he is my favorite of all time. i realy do hope that the guy talking about the killers was kidding, the killers are, well, not to hate, but not very good. and nOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS SUFJAN. suf is a genius. those of you making rude comments about gay rumors and such should really i dont even know. fall off the face of the musical earth? go listen to what you deserve to i.e britney spears and the like.
saw him at zellerbach most recently in berkely.
changed my life and brought me to tears.
nuff said.
completely agree with matthew. those of you who are quick to deliver harsh complaints, putdowns, and nonsense about the killers should take a step back and realize the genius that this man is. no matter if its him and a banjo in a room of 50 or its him and an orchestral band in a room of 1000, sufjan will always be a very unique and wonderful artist. he is my favorite of all time. i realy do hope that the guy talking about the killers was kidding, the killers are, well, not to hate, but not very good. and nOT EVEN IN THE SAME LEAGUE AS SUFJAN. suf is a genius. those of you making rude comments about gay rumors and such should really i dont even know. fall off the face of the musical earth? go listen to what you deserve to i.e britney spears and the like.
saw him at zellerbach most recently in berkely.
changed my life and brought me to tears.
nuff said.
“Gay rumors”…I never understand why there is ever speculation about the sexuality of musicians…its not like people fuck with their ears!! if someone makes nice music I couldnt care less what else they do.
I also dont understand music snobs who make superior comments about people who like people like Britney Spears. For example “lately I have only been listening to avant-guard jazz from Uzbekistan, its really authentic you know, I particularly enjoy it with a gitane and an oily coffee, now go back to the hovel you where festering in and listen some Britney Spears, philistine!”