The importance of Sufjan Stevens’ show at the Bluebird on July 29 was obvious. It sold out the day before, but more importantly, the right people sold it out. Thoughtful music fans, college radio kids, Twist & Shouters and members of respected bands all showed up. And while not all agreed afterward, their passion for Stevens’ cause was shared.
Stevens’ “Illinoise” is one of the best-received records of the year, and for good reason. His masterful mix of the startlingly mellow and torturously intense is refreshingly infectious. The songs were different creations live, particularly “Chicago.” Stevens’ most ambitious, large-scale recording was stripped down for the tour. Even with seven other people onstage with him – all dressed in matching blue-and-orange cheerleader uniforms – it wasn’t enough to fill out the layered intensity of “They Are Night Zombies!!” and “Come On! Feel the Illinoise!”
It didn’t matter. The low-fi of “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.,” “Casimer Pulaski Day” and “Jacksonville” stole the show. Stevens makes his voice the tuneful, well-focused center of such simple melodies. And the crowd’s hushed reverence was evidence that Stevens, though young, knows how to work his songs and, in turn, work an audience.
– Ricardo Baca
Kasabian
A brief but eerie Monday blackout that left segments of East Colfax and 14th avenues in the dark and neighbors wandering with candles and flashlights could not dissuade fans of this British band’s dance rock.
Kasabian’s eponymous 2004 debut is packed with Stone Roses riffs and Groove Armada-sounding samples. The CD, along with the band’s South by Southwest appearance in Austin, Texas, earlier this year, generated critical buzz and laid the foundation for fervent boogieing at the Bluebird Theater, even if several of its songs sound alike.
Electronic sound effects reminiscent of a “Doctor Who” episode set the tone for the show. Intense rays of light and dancing graphics blanketed the room during the opener, “I.D.,” a track that showcased vocalist Tom Meighan’s new-wave howl and quietly rebellious stomp. The band followed up with the more aggressive white-boy rap “L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever).” “Reason Is Treason” was another crowd-pleaser, although by this point Kasabian’s redundant lyrics and simple songwriting started to show. But this dance party kept going, proving Kasabian is as much about atmosphere as it is about music.
– Elana Ashanti Jefferson
Journey
Not even hard-core Journey fans need almost three hours of the ’80s rock band. But here they were, Tuesday at the Universal Lending Pavilion, seeing the equivalent of a musical-theater extravaganza with Steve Augeri rocking the mic in place of the ousted Steve Perry. Journey, in two acts, you might say.
Act I was a brutal, hitless journey through lots of recent (read: past 15 years) material. It closed the tough set with “Any Way You Want It,” and after an obnoxiously long intermission, they opened Act II with “Be Good to Yourself” and “Only the Young.” Augeri was tonally in sync with the band, but it’s easy to criticize the show’s length and filler. Early in Act II, one of the band members said, “We’re celebrating 30 years – count ’em, 30 years – of Journey. … And this is a new song.” To which the guy next to me told his group, “No, we don’t want any more new songs.” His friend agreed by using it as a bathroom break.
– Ricardo Baca
