Sufjan Stevens in Dallas

About two months ago, I knew that September 13th would be a day that would require at least one very tough choice. Two of my favorite bands to see live would be playing Dallas on the same night. I had finally made my choice to see the Polyphonic Spree above Nickel Creek based mostly on the fact that the Gypsy Tea Room is way too loud to see Nickel Creek at again. I held off and kept dragging my feet to actually go buy tickets. The day before I was going to go down to buy my Spree tickets; I noticed that yet another great show would be happening that same night. When I saw that Sufjan Stevens would be in town, I knew that my decision was made.

In about 2001, I saw the Danielsonship perform at Cornerstone with this guy with a funny name on banjo. I thought he sounded interesting, but I neglected to go see that guy's solo show at the festival. I read a little more about him when I got home, but didn't really pay much more attention until later in 2003 when I started hearing rumblings about how good Sufjan Steven's Greeting from Michigan album was. I bought the disc and in the months following picked up A Sun Came and planned to see him live the first chance I got. That chance came at Buffalo Billiards in Austin as part of SXSW 2004. That night he very timidly played by himself with only a banjo and guitar on a big stage in a loud pool hall. The short set was great, but I couldn't help but wonder what the songs would have sounded like with a little more of the orchestration he uses on the discs. As he got more and more popular, he toured more and brought along a bigger band. I had followed his calendar closely, but he never made a trip back anywhere close enough to make a show. (I did have a close run-in in San Francisco, where he was performing two nights while I was there, but I didn't go. I guess it is important to spend time with your wife on your honeymoon.)

In between songs last night, he mentioned that show at Buffalo Billiards was, and how it was his first and only other time to perform in Texas. This time there were no antlers on the ceiling, there were seats to sit in, and he had fourteen people helping to recreate the songs. He hadn't changed much. He still was timid on stage, but the band made all the difference in the world. I expected a good show, but I had no idea how great of a show we were in for. From the opening notes of Sister to the end of That Dress Looks Nice on You, Sufjan and his band were nothing short of amazing. They delivered jaw-dropping and chill inducing renditions of song after song. The setlist sampled songs from Michigan, Illinois, Seven Swans, and The Avalanche, along with two songs about birds for a series of songs he said he was working on. Here is the list I swiped from another blog.

1. Sister
2. Casimir Pulaski Day
3. Detroit, Lift Up Your Weary Head
4. The Lord God Bird
5. Dear Mr. Supercomputer
6. The Transfiguration
7. Jacksonville
8. Predatory Wasp of the Palisades
9. John Wayne Gacy, Jr.
10. A Good Man is Hard to Find
11. Majesty, Snowbird
12. Seven Swans
13. Chicago
Encore
14. The Dress Looks Nice on You

There were so many highlights to the show, it would take way too much time to list them. I will say that from songs 6 to 9 on that setlist, I was convinced that I was witnessing the greatest show I had ever seen. The live interpretations of these four songs were perfect. A day later, I would probably stop short of saying it is the best show I have ever seen, but it would rank up there pretty high. It is a show that I will remember for a long time.

If you follow the My Pictures link in the right hand column, I posted a ton of pictures from the show.