Scott tells me that when he lived in Ithaca the only live music there was ska. Well, now the live music includes expansive glitch-y songs by Sufjan Stevens. No sooner did we post the man’s interview with Shannon Stephens, then a live version of this new song “There’s Too Much Love” pops up and out. The 7-minute epic encore was captured on high-quality video from Soof’s visit to Castaways with Cryptacize. Note the heavy guitar riffing and noisy jazz breakdown, right before things head into some heady (and zany) Bitches Brew zone. (Hey, maybe the Polvo-esque rock vibe he nailed on “In The Words Of The Governor” wasn’t a one-off). Sufjan, the shape-shifter.
“There’s Too Much Love”
(Via P4K)
Here’s the setlist, complete with some other newbies like “Alien Attack,” “Age Of Adz,” and “Impossible Souls.”
01 “Alien Attack”
02 “Age Of Adz”
03 “Impossible Souls”
04 “All Delighted People”
05 “Majesty Snowbird”
06 “The Transfiguration”
07 “Casimir Pulaski Day”
08 “The Dress Looks Nice on You”
09 “To Be Alone With You”
10 “Chicago”
11 “In the Devil’s Territory”
//
12 “There’s Too Much Love”
13 “John Wayne Gacy, Jr”
UPDATE:
“Age Of Adz”
“Impossible Souls”
The take-away versions:
Sufjan Stevens – “Impossible Souls” (Live)
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There were some jams bands too, but really — no one ever gigged in Tompkins County outside of the official university concerts when I was there.
Now who’s got “Age Of Adz”?
Basically Weezer type appeal augmented by the bells and whistles…No?
Age of Adz: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7j3bddVbduQ
Thanks
I dug everything but that silly sideways cocked hat. Come on, Sufjan, you’re prettier than that.
Ithaca is full of hippies.
Caught his show last night in Cleveland… I definitely think we were all surprised by these new tracks. Well, I guess “You Are The Blood” might have been a tip off. Still, Transitioning from “Chicago” acoustic to a ten-minute synth beeping, horn blazing new song was pretty shocking.
do you happen to have the full set by chance? or at least the older songs he played?
I think there was more of a tip of to this new sound other than just “You are the Blood”. If anyone heard the bootleg of this last years Christmas album that he did, it is filled with electronic bleeps and the like. The soundtrack for the BQE is also like this. This may seem like a big jump from Chicago, but after a 4 year break with a smattering of cryptic output, one might assume he was up to something.
These tracks are REALLY cool, but no surprise really. Look at “You Are The Blood” and the electronic parts of The BQE. It’s a great direction for him to be going.
Maybe worth the wait?
What state is this?
I was thinking about this too, and I would guess part of the reason for the low output over the last few years was that he is a little disenchanted with his statement that he would make an album for each U.S. state. Thus, he has been playing around with experimental jazz, and his original electronic roots. I am a Canadian, so I’m not much of an expert on obscure references to states, but he could fit a lot of this into an album about any state in particular. He has however said that he has been working on material for a couple states at a time, so each song might be focusing on a different state (if any at all). He could always surprise us and make an album without the whole “50 states” theme.
95% sure he’s done with the states.
Here was the playlist:
1. Alien Attack
2. Age of Adz
3. Impossible Souls
4. All Delighted People
5. Majesty Snowbird
6. The Transfiguration
7. Casimir Pulaski Day
8. The Dress Looks Nice on You
9. To Be Alone With You
10. Chicago
11. In the Devil?s Territory
First encore was Too Much Love and second was John Wayne Gacy.
i feel like a hipster being able to say i was at the show where he debuted five new songs haha
new songs are great. same kinda vibe of ‘you are the blood’ cover and the songs on that leaked christmas album – sort of. dude most probably has a lot of ‘unleaked’ stuff in store.
i totally get what he’s saying in the interview about the ‘white noise’ of excess, how the sheer accessibility of music sort of cheapens it all and &c. but it’s a bummer he’s not releasing his stuff, because his music is terrific.
soof’s music gives us all joy. it is ‘inspirational’ to me in the strictest sense. maybe his principled withholding of his art isn’t so unreasonable… but it’s a major bummer.
YOU HEAR THAT, SUFJAN?? A MAJOR FRIGGIN’ BUMMER.
))
k. just had to say it.
though of course the fact that he’s been playing new songs live is not inauspicious, so yeah, ok. maybe there’s hope beyond all this bqe-multimedia-set and string-quartet-reinterpretations-of-a-2001-electronic-album stunts (which are cool and welcome! BUT STILL).
The only sure way that any of his new music will see the light of day is when the right Mike Mills-or-Jason Reitmam-directed movie soundtrack comes along. Just a matter of time.
Oh I REALLY like this new sound. But I just wish he would change his look to like long hair and an indian shirt or something.
adz might be a clue to his next state…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adz#Northwest_Coast_America
MOAR PLZ
Hold out your hand, say please
oh also, he described the new stuff as glam rock haha
after he played the first five songs he was like “enough of this glam rock bullshit”
it’d be easier to do the provinces, eh?
I hate how people complain that we missed out on the “age of music” in the 60s and 70s, but yet they fail to notice people like Sufjan that are making bold, tantalizing music like this “right.now.”
can’t wait to hear “too much love” on whatever album he has coming for us next’
I just saw him play at The High Dive in Champaign and he was absolutely fantastic. Like blow my mind fantastic. this was the setlist:
Impossible Soul
Upper Peninsula
Transfiguration
All Delighted People
Casimir Pulaski Day
Jacksonville
Age of Adz
To Be Alone
Dress Looks Nice on You
Majesty Snowbird
Chicago
Encore: Theres To Much Love
He only had one encore because the idiots who scheduled it put a DJ up after him. it was ridic.
Castaways is pretty cool room, though it was called “Key West” when I lived in Ithaca. Somewhat famous (in my time) for letting you smoke and do whatever the hell else you wanted on their massive deck. Don’t know if that’s still the case.
The last thing that matters at all is the way he is dressed. I think he always looks good and normal.
sounds like the starlight mints.