Stars whizzed past and it was clear we were traveling to another dimension.
The sky was in constant motion, the stars moving about to form new constellations, and Sufjan promised to guide us “as we venture into the other world.”
Acclimating to this new world was a bit of a culture shock—the old Sufjan world of middle America and bird wings was light years away from the rocket ships and aliens and never-ending stairways into space.
The old familiar sounds were also left behind. String arrangements were replaced with synthesizer and autotune.
After exploring this new landscape for a few songs, the audience gained a better understanding of the new world.
“Maybe some of you are disappointed,” Sufjan said.
He acknowledged that his new album, The Age of Adz, is significantly different from the work that he has done in the past. It wasn’t by accident that the new music took on a “cosmic character,” he said.
Sufjan wanted to challenge himself to create something unlike anything he had done before, and to accomplish this he had to ditch all of his old conventions.
“I wanted a different approach in sound exploration,” he said.
He ventured into an “abyss of sound exploration,” which he cited as often being an aimless and endless journey.
The past two years were a difficult time, Sufjan said. One of the new songs captures his emotions during his struggle.
“Vesuvius” is about life, and how the constant struggle uphill sometimes leads you to the top of a volcano. The song is about the prospect of jumping into a big vat of lava, he said.
“But I’m still here, my heart is still beating,” he said.
The crowd cheered and then the song began.
Sufjan continued to tell anecdotes and stories throughout the night. He spent a lot of time detailing the inspiration behind the album, specifically how he was influenced by the artwork and life of the late Royal Robertson.
After learning about Royal, Sufjan said that he was inspired to work in a similar manner.
“I wanted to write from sensation, from instinct,” he said.
Sufjan had lunch with Royal’s wife Adell two days prior to the show, on Royal’s birthday.
He concluded his address to the audience by playing another new song.
“This is a funky jam I wrote for Royal,” he said.
Through this and many other songs, Sufjan danced the most hilarious dance. It can best be described as a pseudo-pop and lock routine, where he rolls his shoulders and makes angular, robotic arm movements, and occasionally shuffles his feet.
This video has an example of the dancing. It's not the same show or song (some of the dancing here is more energetic and specific to the song, but at about 4:40 it's similar to what he did throughout the show). Other examples can be found all over YouTube and Tumblr, but this one had the dancing that most looked like what I remember.
When “Impossible Soul” played, some audience members laughed at the autotune. Sufjan didn’t seem to be taking himself too seriously at this point either because he donned a golden pharaoh headpiece, glittery gloves and neon shutter shades.
This gesture of inhibition seemed to transfer to the audience. As the song built into climax, a few people jumped out of their assigned seats to dance, and soon the whole audience was on its feet.
By the end of the journey, Sufjan convinced the audience that this new world was worth the journey.
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