Artist commands audience attention
Saturday, March 31, 2007
By Tricia Woolfenden
The Grand Rapids Press

Sufjan Stevens undoubtedly was the man of the hour Friday night at Calvin College.

The Michigan-born, New York-based musician was on his game during the two-hour set, the first of two sold-out Friday night performances at the college’s Fine Arts Center’s auditorium.

Even as Stevens — a ‘98 Hope College graduate — was surrounded by a sea of balloons, inflatable characters, a projection screen and a backing band of nine winged musicians, his delicately beautiful voice and excellent song-writing took center stage.

Stevens could be labeled one of the foremost singer-songwriters of his generation. With an arsenal of six epic albums to his credit — plus a few side projects and a college degree in music — Stevens has been prolific in his relatively short career. His conceptual album, “Illinois,” was one of the most critically acclaimed works of 2005.

Despite those accolades, Stevens has kept a sense of whimsy to his work, particularly his live performances.

“We don’t want things getting too serious in here,” Stevens said, two songs into his 17-song set. “That’s why we have balloons popping up here on stage and we’re wearing costumes. It’s called levity.”

The band then launched into a medley of the theme from the “Superman” films, as inflatable super heroes were launched from the stage.

Friday night’s show was a spectacle of sight and sound. It also marked the final installment of Stevens’ long-favored “thematic format” of performing in wings and other various elements.

The action-packed set vacillated between highs and lows, as Stevens’ album work tends to do. Quiet, contemplative moments give way to bursts of horn and hand-clap-filled clutter of instruments and energy.

Perhaps in a nod to the theme of the festival, the set list drew heavily from 2004’s “Seven Swans,” the most overtly spiritual and overlooked work of Stevens’ catalog. Selections included the soul-crushingly beautiful “Sister” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” and the apocalyptic title track.

The rest of the set dealt with favorite tracks from Stevens’ breakthrough album “Illinois,” including the enormously popular “Chicago” and “John Wayne Gacy,” with a few tunes from Stevens’ other works thrown in the mix.

Stevens — who has what seems to be the charmingly nervous habit of clapping at the end of each song — broke up the show with pleasant between-song banter. Example: “The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades Is Out To Get Us!” was introduced by way of an extended free-form — and humorously embellished — story about a childhood experience at summer camp.

The concert was a spectacle, filled with enthusiasm, art, emotion and, as Stevens said, levity. Stevens — with his crazy-creative mind, wonderfully lilting voice and skilled backing band — knows how to put on a show. Not just a concert, but a bona fide performance. And it’s worth every dime.

4 out of 4 stars

Highlights
Hipster anthem and show closer, “Chicago” brought the crowd to its feet; the dense and intens “Seven Swans” and the quiet passages of show opener, “Sister.” Opening act and former Michiganders, Anathallo, gave a stellar lead-in performance.

Low point
The first few notes of new song “Majesty Snowbird” were a bit warbly, though the song later blossomed into a trademark Stevens’ ocean of sound.

Time on stage
Two hours

More on Mlive
Blog: Sufjan Stevens will give a lecture 11 a.m. today as part of the Festival of Faith and Music at Calvin College.