Originally published in The Aquarian Weekly
October 25, 2006
PHOTO BY DENNY RENSHAW
SUFJAN
STEVENS/MY BRIGHTEST DIAMOND/
The
Town Hall/Sept. 29
by Ken Shane
at The Town Hall, Sufjan Stevens
demonstrated that
a large band performing in a mid-sized hall can still
provide the type of intimate performance usually reserved
for small clubs. Stevens was accompanied by a large
string section and three horns, in addition to the more
traditional guitars, bass, drums, and
keyboards that are
usually found at a rock and roll show.
To call
this music rock and roll, however, is somewhat
misleading.There are
elements of rock in the distorted
electric guitars of some songs, like the brilliant new epic
“Majestic
Snowbird,” and “The Man Of Metropolis Steals
Our
Hearts,” but those same songs also include folklike
acoustic guitar segments. There is something like
Steve Reich minimalism in some songs. At any
given
moment you might hear jazz, or electronica,
or
or classical influences. You often hear all of these same
elements within the same song. On occasion you’ll
be reminded of the music of Brian Wilson’s SMiLE.
It’s
hard to know what to call this music, so the best thing
you can do is to not worry about it. You simply sit back
in your seat, as I did, and let it wash over you. Suddenly,
you notice that you have a big smile on your face, and
you realize that it’s been there for a long time.
The
evening featured a number of songs from Steven’s
brilliant 2005 album, Illinoise,
including the
aforementioned tribute to the Man of Steel,
during
which inflatable Supermen were tossed into the
audience. Highlights from that album also included
“Chicago,”
“The Predatory Wasp Of The
Is Out To Get Us” and “Casimir Pulaski
Day.” The
inflatable theme continued as blow-up Santas were
released during “That Was The Worst Christmas Ever!”
The
state with “Say Yes! To
Greetings
From
The
young band, closer to an orchestra really, was
first rate. Especially noteworthy were the beautiful
background vocals by Shara
Worden, whose voice is
a natural fit with that of Stevens. The production,
including
a video screen, was on the low-tech side, but effective
nonetheless. Finally, I would be remiss if I
failed to
mention that Stevens and his entire band wore butterfly
wings for their entire set. Make of that what you will.
Sufjan Stevens has stated his intention to do an album
for each state in the union. It’s a lofty goal. There’s no
way to tell if he’ll get there, but it will certainly be
fascinating
to hear the music that he produces on his journey.
In
addition to her duties as background singer and
keyboard player for Stevens, Shara
Worden opened
the show in the guise of her alter-ego “My Brightest
Diamond.” Her music is very different, and
yet like her
voice, it was an excellent fit with that of the headliner.
The
classically trained vocalist has a wonderful voice
that may remind you of Bjork, and
her songs sometimes
bring to mind the more ethereal side of Joni Mitchell.
There is
a darkness that runs deep. She used her string
quartet accompaniment to great advantage, especially
when she coupled the sweet strings with the growl of
her electric guitar playing.
Worden
won’t be opening shows for too much longer.
Her
album Bring Me The Workhorse will no doubt gain
her a wider audience. I hope that she will continue her
collaboration with Stevens though. There’s
something
wonderful going on there.