Sufjan Stevens
First Avenue, September 18, 2005
Minneapolis, MN

Sufjan Stevens isn’t your normal genius musician with a small voice, and he proved it Sunday night before a sold-out crowd at Minneapolis’ legendary First Avenue.

His latest album, “Illinois” is only the second of his 50 States Project, a series of albums inspired the stereotypes and history of all fifty states. Home-state “Michigan” was the first.

Sunday night’s show brought Sufjan (pronounced SOOF-YAWN) and his seven-member ensemble, the Illinoismakers, to the stage sporting Illinois jumpsuits, cheerleader outfits and Illinois-specific cheers — all while brandishing the Great Seal of Illinois (mounted on cardboard) and singing solely about The Land of Lincoln.

Some songs kicked off with a cheer and synchronized hand motions (five songs, actually), while others started with Sufjan’s quiet falsetto creeping into the mic a capella as the group joined in one by one on trumpet, trombone, banjo, organ, guitar, bass, drums, melodica, vocals and more. Regardless of his young, nervous demeanor and notebook of sheet music, the speakers at First Ave haven’t been tickled by this much raw talent in years.

The crowd followed Sufjan’s every emotion, from full on audience participation with classic gameday cheers “Gimme a J” (to spell Jacksonville) to 5/4 clapping with “The Great Frontier” to somber moments like “Casimir Pulaski Day,” which began mentioning a friend dying of “cancer of the bone.” Ending with “Chicago,” Sufjan and the band brought Minnesotans as close to the Windy City as we cared to be on a Sunday night. A favorite song of the night was Sufjan’s take on the National Anthem, with updated meter and key signature.

Whether you love him or hate him, whether playing a fast song or slow, Sufjan knows how to pour embittered emotion into every track, and his live audiences are met with an unescapable onslaught of “feeling,” sometimes wished left unfelt. His songs aren’t just twisted historical perspectives on Honest Abe and John Wayne Gacy; they are melodic knives that rip open healed scars you’d forgotten while pointing out new wounds you didn’t know were there. Last night, we all rejoiced in the agony…as honorary Illini.
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Download Illinois here: