Photo by Kelsey Ellefson
Indie rock’s golden boy, Sufjan Stevens took over the Buskirk Chumley Theater last night along with fellow Asthmatic Kitty label-mates, Cryptacize. The highly anticipated and almost immediately sold-out event had anxious attendees waiting outside in the cold almost seven hours before the show began.
“It’s great [getting Sufjan here] because he’s such a big artist and it’s great we had the opportunity to get him for the kick-off show,” WIUX Station Manager and IU Junior Ryan Patena said of the evening, which was co-hosted by the student-run radio station and Spirit of ’68 Promotions.
“It’s great that we can get our name out there to a bigger audience of people who would listen to our station,” Patena said of the opportunity to host the exciting event.
Opening band Cryptacize serenaded the massive crowd with their style that was du-wop meets pop. The charming lead vocalist, Nedelle Torrisi sounded uncannily like Rilo Kiley front-woman Jenny Lewis. The trio swayed the audience with a new tune they seemed especially proud of, entitled “Little Power”. By the time their set was completed, the theater was buzzing with chatter and it was clear that everyone was more than ready for Sufjan.
Center Grove High School’s Percussion Director Josh Torres and his wife Audrey drove down from Greenwood, IN just to see the show. As his first Sufjan experience to date, Torres was hoping to hear anything off his favorite album, Come on Feel the Illinoise.
Torres’s wish was granted when a camo cowboy hat wearing Sufjan Stevens serenaded the crowd with “Casimir Pulaski Day”. The singer, who usually tours with a massive ensemble, was accompanied only by the female vocalist from Cryptacize, two horn players, a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer.
Along with his already established musical talents, Sufjan divulged an anecdote from his childhood in which the adults of his life attempted to decide what he would be when he grew up. They threw out the possibilities of him being a Lawyer, an Engineer or a member of the armed services because of their promised longevity, but Sufjan decided to become a musician claiming that “Art is forever.”
The evening was also an outlet for the group to experiment with some new songs, self-titling the endeavor, “The Sufjan Stevens Live Workshop Performance.” New tracks like “Impossible Soul” and the crowd moving, “All Delighted People” were well received by the attentive audience.
Sufjan made every girl in the audience swoon when he encored with the multi-faceted “To be Alone with You.”
The evening was as much a full-on production as any of Sufjan’s previous masterpiece albums, combining powerful melodic arrangements with poignant vocals. It was a treat to hear his new songs as well as some old favorites, and to get a taste of a great artist’s creative process.
Stay tuned for more news and events! I’ll be posting more fashiony stuff too!
LoveLoveLove
-Alexa
