Grief tends to leave a lump in the throat. After his mother died, wove his bereavement into the mournful-yet-beautiful record “Carrie & Lowell,” named for his mother and stepfather. Stevens and his band performed the majority of his confessional album last night at the Paramount Theatre, playing to an utterly rapt audience of mostly millennials.
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Stevens matched his intensely tender personal elegy to sparkling melodies. His ghostly, haunting songs rang especially poignant as a full moon rose and the Day of the Dead approached. Stevens’ “Fourth of July” reminded the crowd of inescapable mortality: “We’re all going to die.” But he also demonstrated that music helps us survive even–especially–life’s most difficult nadirs.
Stevens took the humanity of his work to another level with other-worldy arrangements and an entertaining light show. His wistful, Vienna choir-boy vocals were backed by the buttery harmonies of his fellow players. He moved from piano bench to strings to synthesizer, then on to the tambourine and recorder. The band’s unusual instruments included wind chimes and sleigh bells. The ethereal tunes sometimes smacked of EDM, minus most of the “D.” Fans remained seated, attentive.
From his early years, “Vesuvius” was a hot spot with a melt-down ending. At the other end of the spectrum, “Owl and Tanager” was a dreamy, quiet duet. The band wound down the set with an acidy rendition of “Blue Bucket of Gold.”
Stevens spoke not a word until he took the stage again alone initially for an encore. “Every night out it’s a challenge and a struggle, but a catharsis,” he said. “I give away some of my misery. It’s yours now. It’s an incredible exchange, and I couldn’t do it without you.”
On the first of a four-song encore, Stevens stopped and earnestly said, “Wait a minute. I messed up the words.” And then took up “Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois.” (This songwriter has some of the longest titles in the business. Consider “A Conjunction of Drones Simulating the Way in Which Sufjan Stevens Has an Existential Crisis in the Great Godfrey Maze.”)
The band closed with “Chicago,” and Stevens clapped for the Denver fans almost as much as they applauded him. Stevens had a shout-out for his opener, Gallant, whom he called “a supernatural power.” As he showed, it takes one to know one.
Setlist: Sufjan Stevens, Paramount Theatre, 10/27/15
Redford
Death With Dignity
Should Have Known Better
Drawn to the Blood
Eugene
John
The Only Thing
Fourth of July
No Shade In The Shadow of the Cross
Carrie & Lowell
All of Me
Owl & Tanager
Vesuvius
I Want to be Well
My Blue Bucket of Gold
Encore:
Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois
Futile Devices
To Be Alone
Chicago
