Sufjan Stevens played the Paramount Theatre in Denver on Tuesday night. (Courtesy Photo)
On Tuesday night, Sufjan (Suf-yawn) Stevens hit the Paramount Theatre in Denver with a tour-de-force performance complete with spaceships, a spliced-up Macarena dance and a 25-minute explosion of sound known as “Impossible Soul.”
His opening act, DMStiff, served double duty as his piano player.
To open, Stiff sat on the stage alone and softly played a guitar. Lit up only by a small stage footlight, he appeared as fragile as the music he quietly strummed.
Audience members streamed in as he played and offered a great variety. Although 35-year-old Stevens’ music appeals to college students and 20-somethings, ages varied from college freshmen to 60-and-up adults.
In a particularly touching moment, an older woman in the audience whispered the words to “Chicago”– “I fell in love again /all things go, all things go /drove to Chicago /all things know, all things know,” along with the crowd towards the end of the show.
His variety of fans reflects the variety in his music, offering a sound for almost everyone to enjoy.
Beginning his career in 2000, Stevens showcased his signature sound on albums like “Michigan,” “Illinoise” and “Seven Swans.” “Age of Adz” (2010) exhibits a newer and more experimental sound.
Although some fans came to the show to hear solely Stevens’ older and more familiar work, most seemed enthusiastic at his new material.
The disparity between new and old was made extremely clear by the performance of his musicians, backup singers and the images on the backdrop.
During songs from “Age of Adz,” like “Too Much,” the set became an amalgam of color, masks, feathers and light-up visors.
Stevens let go of his ethereal and whimsical qualities and danced awkwardly and unabashedly during “Too Much,” whipping off the wings he sported during “Seven Swans.”
Mid-show, Stevens offered an explanation for his extreme change in musical quality through an anecdote about a painter. During the five-minute aside, he regained the fragile characteristics he’s become known for, speaking softly and intimately with the audience.
In the next song, “Get Real, Get Right,” he incorporated some of the artist’s work into his backdrop. As spaceships and aliens flashed and danced across the screen, Stevens toyed with synthesizers and Auto-Tune.
Following the loud and brash “Get Right,” the tempo shifted rapidly downwards to the subtle and melancholic “Enchanting Ghost.” The change felt awkward and abrupt; the lights came up and Stevens grabbed an acoustic, while his funky-clad band stood around him.
Making up for the awkwardness, he then prepared the audience for the culmination of the entire show: “Impossible Soul.”
Prefacing the song as an explosion of “hormonal ecstasy” and comparing the process of it to the 12-step program of AA, the band then launched into a 25-minute epic. A song which ranges levels from anger to frenzy to static to concession, “Impossible Soul,” reflected the changes- both good and bad- in Stevens’ style from his former albums.
“Age of Adz” may be louder, more experimental and brasher, but in performances like “Get Right” and “Soul,” Stevens truly found his stride.
After such a whirlwind performance, Stevens wrapped up with softer and more familiar songs like “Chicago” and “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.”
These numbers found much of the audience standing up and singing along, glad to have seen their old favorites return. For his encore, he returned to the stage alone.
All stage lights up and holding only a guitar, Stevens appeared less fragile than he had the entire show. Having found his strength in something different, he could return to play old standards with a new and refreshing enthusiasm.
Contact CU Independent Staff Writer Caitlin McCluskey at Caitlin.mccluskey@colorado.edu.
