thinking outrageously, i write in cursive

Please bear with me as I do crazy fangirl for perhaps the only man on earth I will ever consider doing crazy fangirl for.

So last Thursday, as you know, I went to see Sufjan in concert.  In the hours approaching the concert, I think I naturally lowered my expectations.  I have been compiling this list of fantastic Sufjan songs which I adore, and it is basically a list of songs that I would cry if he played live.  In the past four and a half years I have gotten to know him as this cute storyteller who writes plucky acoustic and lushly orchestrated narrative-based songs, and I have fallen in love with songs like He Woke Me Up Again, Romulus, The Mistress Witch From McClure, Casimir Pulaski Day, Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland Illinois, The Predatory Wasp of the Palisades is Out To Get Us!, etcetera.  And I got used to wanting to hear these songs in concert so badly, and simply accepting that I would never hear them because Sufjan seemed to be dead for a long, long time (and never on tour!).

Then in August or September, I found these tickets for sale for this concert in Indianapolis, and I regained hope! But the night of the concert, I remembered for the first time that his new album was such a dramatic departure from the acoustic narrative-style songs of his old albums, and I realized that there was a huge possibility that I would not hear any of these songs that I so loved.  I'm not sure why this thought hadn't crossed my mind until the night of the concert, but I began to get nervous.  I worried that my parents would be taken aback by his highly synthesized new style, because his new songs were nothing like the calm, acoustic, beautiful pieces that I have played through the speakers of my house.  I worried that I would be disappointed.

Honestly, worrying was idiotic, because he was fantastic.  It's true that the vast majority of songs were from his new album and EP.  The songs from the album are highly electronic, while the EP songs are more acoustic (but still a departure from his old stuff).  So there was this great balance between the electronic stuff and acoustic stuff, both of which were fantastic.

The Age of Adz

He opened with Seven Swans, though, which was a nice way to transition into his new stuff, and he ended with Chicago (which, personally, I don't love that much -- but it was very good live, and a good way to recall old times).  Then for the encore, he came out and started playing UFO Sighting, and I almost died of happiness.  THEN he gathered at the front of the stage with his backup singers and played Casimir Pulaski Day (I literally almost cried), which was adorable because in the middle of the song the backups messed up the lyrics and they all stopped and laughed.  He also played The Dress Looks Nice on You and John Wayne Gacy, Jr, which were both excellent.

Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois

What surprised me the most, though, is how much his songs from his new album thrilled me.  Had the concert been all acoustic and plucky and narrative, as I had originally hoped it would be, it would have lost so much of its thrill and excitement.  Even in the new songs, his voice was still perfection, so I didn't lose that part of the Sufjan experience, and it really brought the album to life for me (naturally, I now cannot stop listening).

Also, my parents and sister loved it.  I haven't seen my dad smile so much in a while, which really, really made the night worth it for me.

Casimir Pulaski Day