Sufjan Stevens opened his show with "Seven Swans," then thanked the audience "... for letting me be dramatic, I am a drama queen." After learning that Stevens went through a life-threatening illness while completing The Age Of Adz, it's hard to accuse him of dramatics. But his L.A. show did feature self-indulgence as a theme -- (surprising) costume changes, huge, Royal Roberts-inspired projections of himself behind himself. Photographer Graeme Flegenheimer says Stevens had an explanation: "Sufjan picked [Roberts] because he thinks they both share the notion that big personal events reflect like giant events, Sufjan said like an earthquake." Delusions of importance, earthquakes -- looks like he kept his show locally relevant.
The setlist:
"Seven Swans"
"Too Much"
"Age of Adz"
"Heirloom"
"I Walked"
"Futile Devices"
"Vesuvius"
"The Owl And The Tanager"
"Get Real, Get Right"
"Enchanting Ghost"
"Impossible Soul"
"Chicago"
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"Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois"
"Casimir Pulaski Day"
"Jacksonville"


















