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M O N D AY, N O V E M B E R 0 5 , 2 0 0 7Sufjan Stevens at BAMWell, one definite goal was reached at the Sufjan Stevens concert atBAM: we learned how to pronounce his name. It's Suf-e-yan,apparently. I've wanted to see him in concert for years, certainly sincehis brilliant album centered on the state of Illinois. But this was morethan a concert. Stevens debuted his orchestral piece inspired by TheBQE, the Bronx Queens Expressway. There was a full orchestra, filledwith the youngest, best-looking musicians you'll ever see in a pit. Sincethe music of Stevens is already very grand and orchestral, a symphonyhardly seemed like a stretch and it certainly wasn't a surprise to see theperformance included multi-media. It began with the orchestra behinda scrim, backlit to create a shadowy, lurking effect. Three giant videoscreens above it played stills and video shot along the BQE. Then thescrim lifted and there were the musicians, soon joined by fiveperformers at the front of the stage who began to hula hoop. Why not?They left eventually (to delighted applause), the music continued andthen they returned in darkness with glow in the dark neon hula hoopsand danced some more. A rock band -- especially a full drum kit --added a color I've rarely heard with an orchestra, there was a"Rhapsody in Blue" flourish on the keyboards towards the finale and itended grandly. Accessible and enjoyable, the piece was mostimpressive for me during the quiet, almost sad lyrical passages at thebeginning, perhaps because I didn't know if Stevens had that in him.The rest was filled with strong melodic sequences, often building to adischordant epic climax before giving way to another strong melody.Very accessible and enjoyable (hence the Gershwin nod). I have no ideahow the piece will stand up to repeated listening and whether it has theshape and cohesiveness of a symphony, whether it works as a whole.But I can't wait to hear it again. The multi-media portion was fine,something to watch while the music played, but it was far fromnecessary. This was not a multi-media work, it was a symphony withsome images tossed in for good measure. That's a compliment.After strong applause, they took a short break and Stevens came outand performed an 80 minute set with his band and the full orchestra.I'd missed earlier concerts of his at Town Hall and I'd wondered howthey went. I knew the songs were strong enough that he could come outwith just a guitar and perform. But the music was so grand that INext Blog»sal1mineo@hotmail.comSEARCH BLOG FLAG BLOGFOLLOW BLOGP O P S U R F I N G . C O MS U R F I N G T H E WAV E S O F P O P U L A R C U LT U R EB Y M I C H A E L G I LT Z & F R I E N D SPOPSURFING.COM: Sufjan Stevens at BAMhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2007/11/sufjan-stevens-at-bam.html
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POPSURFING.COM: Sufjan Stevens at BAMhttp://popsurfing.blogspot.com/2007/11/sufjan-stevens-at-bam.html
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