Come On Feel the Illinoise!

I arrived at the 9:30 club on Tuesday night for a Sufjan Stevens show, a little tired and not sure whether Sufjan and his soothing tunes would be able to get me pumped and psyched. I was quickly proven wrong.

Sufjan burst onto the stage with five companions who comprise the "Illinoisemakers," and they were like a bunch of kids bouncing with energy. (Actually, the six-some at the 9:30 club were not the same group seen in the photo above... they must have a rotation or something..) To give a little background, Sufjan Stevens has set out on an ambitious project to record an album for each of the 50 U.S. states. So far, he's documented his home state of Michigan, and his most recent effort was a tribute to Illinois, on which this current tour is based.

From various photos, I found Sufjan to be an attractive man, so when he walked on stage, I took note. I was surprised, however, that Sufjan really looked like a frat boy that night, clad in gym shorts with a Cubs baseball cap tipped up off his head. He was also wearing some kind of gold chain necklace, perhaps with a crucifix? (Sufjan is known to be a devout Christian.) Nevertheless, he was good looking in that charming, boyish way.

Sufjan & Co. were fully outfitted as Illinois cheerleaders, complete with pom poms and wristbands. They kicked things off with the "50 states song," then launched right into the Illinois set. The crowd was unusually quiet and subdued, perhaps as a show of respect, but more likely because it was a Tuesday night. To liven things up, the group would conduct cheers to open up some of their songs. Led by Sufjan's "Ready, OK!" they shouted Illinois-themed cheers in unison while performing choreographed cheerleading moves and finishing off with--what else?-- spirit fingers. I have to admit, this was definitely funny and entertaining the first time, but by the fifth or sixth, when you could tell that Sufjan was holding back some laughter at the whole thing, it seemed the novelty had worn off and that the gimmick was on.

If there's a critique you'll hear about Sufjan, it's that all this hype over his 50 states project is just that--hype, and that all of it is far too gimmicky. There are the costumes, the cheers, the bold announcement of producing 48 more albums, and the ridiculous song titles (for example, "The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out to Get Us," or "Decatur, or, Round of Applause for your Step-mother!") While this may be true, I think if you stripped away all of the costumes, cheers, and showiness of his performance, it would still be a good show based on the music alone. And Sufjan seems neither pretentious nor arrogant. In fact, aside from being head cheerleader, he was a man of few words, sparing us the usual rocker concert banter. The Illinoisemakers provided much support, whether it was on the trumpet, trombone, maracas, xylophone, or the ever-popular triangle. Songs like "Chicago" built up to big crescendos and filled every corner of the venue without sounding like a big mess. As I've said before, something about the music makes every piece fit in; they're like subtle touches over Sufjan's delicate voice and guitar/banjo/piano.

Sufjan also shined on his own. Being the patriot that he is, he performed a moving, piano-backed version of the "Star Spangled Banner." And for the show encore, Sufjan stepped out alone under the spotlight to give us two heartfelt tunes, "Happy Birthday" (not the version we all know), which he dedicated to a fan, and "To Be Alone With You," off the religion-infused Seven Swans.

Despite the often unrelatable themes of the music--midwestern states' history, personal anecdotes, religious references, and so forth-- the music is still somehow accessible, touching, moving, evocative.

On another note, all Illinois natives should be proud of the damn good PR Sufjan and his buddies are doing for their state. After all, it's not everyday that you can get a crowd in Washington, DC to start chanting "Illinois! Illinois!" All told, it was a great show that exceeded my expectations, and I left the club feeling uppity and fulfilled. Finally, here are some samplers...

A Good Man Is Hard To Find
This is one of the standout tunes from Seven Swans (Sounds Familyre, 2004). When Sufjan performed this you could hear a pin drop in the venue. I don't think I've ever heard the place so quiet. The only sound besides his voice was that of the snapping fingers of the Illinoisemakers.

John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
This is one of the darker songs from Illinois (Asthmatic Kitty Records, 2005), in which Sufjan empathizes with serial killer John Wayne Gacy, Jr. ("And in my best behavior/I am really just like him") Very moving albeit slightly disturbing.

Chicago
As far as I can tell, this song doesn't say so much about Chicago as it does about a memorable Sufjan roadtrip and the mistakes he made and learned from. Either way, it's a great tune, definitely one of the more "poppy" ones from the album, with lush instrumentation and choir vocals.

Enjoy.