Sufjan Stevens: Sydney Opera House 27.01.11

I'll start simply. After 11 years and hundreds of gigs, festivals etc I have a new favourite gig of all time. Gone is Mercury Rev at the Enmore Theatre a decade ago.

Sufjan Stevens is unparalleled in the live arena. Opening with Seven Swans might seem odd giving he was touring Adz but it was brilliance on display. Stevens, banjo, lone light and a crowd holding its breath. "There was a fire in the yard ... I saw the sign in the sky, seven swans, seven swans."

NOISE and LIGHT

Stevens is dressed in disco motor leathers and the ten musicians/family members with him are beards and bowling alley dresses and then some sort of headware. I never knew Seven Swans was on Adz, always assumed it was on the album of the same name. Lyrically it still talks of the apocalypse but now it talks of the apocalypse coming loudly and with horns and drums, it is more obviously now a song of Revelation because of its noise.

Once he has you it is very difficult to escape Stevens whose magnetism grows through two hours of glorious noise, occasionally interrupted by well-timed three minute folk songs.

Welcome too is a chatty Stevens who talks of influences and past efforts. You can read about the influence of self-proclaimed prophet, astrologer and astronomer Royal Robertson or, as he preferred to be known until his death in 2003, “Libra Patriarch Prophet Lord Archbishop Apostle Visionary Mystic Psychic Saint Royal Robertson.” But until you both see and hear that influence it is impossible to understand with any strength. To resort to comparisons this is somewhere between Dark Side of the Moon, Kraftwerk, the Old Testament and science class.

On some listens Vesuvius is the centre of Adz and live it dominated the centre of two plus hours inside the acoustic wonderment of the House. The lyrical interplay between "Vesuvius" and the one less syllable of "Sufjan" feels even more clouded live, as if the two words are being sung in opposing places just to lock you in SPIN.

Of course the finale was always going to be a jammed out version of the already 25 minute Impossible Soul. It is testament to his song writing credentials that Sufjan starts so simply. One key and his voice. Imperceptibly come cymbals and two cheerleaders for the first rise. From there a guitar solo, a disco, choral backing and you have forgotten the first key and his voice is now layered, automated but captivating.
A female voice urges "don't be distracted" by what is going on, close your eyes.

Most of us writing about music like to keep it simple. To offer our logic driven opinions on drum solos and breakdowns. Sufjan Stevens steals logic and captivates the soul.

Video of the concert is available at http://play.sydneyoperahouse.com/index.php/Music/sufjan-stevens-live-exclusive-age-of-adz.html

The King is Dead

Noise is being made over at http://www.decemberists.com ahead of the Oregon band's latest LP release, The King is Dead, on January 18.


The increasingly impressive caper of offering the album in an array of fashions (download, CD, vinyl) alongside merchandise (anything from an "exclusive" tee through to one-off polaroids of the band is the smart and growing answer to bit torrents etc al. Yes, I will pay for a well thought through package like this one:


DELUXE BOX EDITION $165

Limited edition of 2500 available exclusively on thedecemberists.com
A one-of-a-kind Polaroid photograph by Autumn de Wilde from the Impossible Project/Decemberists series
72 page hardcover book featuring over 250 unique Polaroid photographs by Autumn de Wilde and illustrations by Carson
Ellis
The King Is Dead CD
Pendarvia DVD – a 30 minute short film by Aaron Rose, documenting the making of the album
The King Is Dead on 180 gram white vinyl with special cover
Limited edition Giclée print illustrated by Carson Ellis
Digital album download code delivered on January 18
Instant download of live video of "Rise To Me" from Musicfest Northwest in Portland, Fall 2009
Instant download of "Down By The Water"
All presented in a linen wrapped, clamshell box with
foil-stamped cover

By any standard it's more than a decent deal and I'd pay $200. The Decemberists are brilliant, we all know that. They have the record that allows them to offer a package like this. The snippets of The King is Dead that have been finding their way online hint at something much mellower than the bombast of The Hazards of Love. National Public Radio in the US will be streaming the album (edit)


The King is Dead is available for those with the patience needed of a streaming listener. http://www.npr.org/2011/01/03/132436422/first-listen-the-decemberists-the-king-is-dead

Map of Tasmania - Amanda Palmer

So the one-time Dresden Doll is set to tour Australia and New Zealand in March 2011 and is leading with her new single, Map of Tasmania. Available for download/stream over at http://music.amandapalmer.net/track/map-of-tasmania-feat-the-young-punx


For those beyond The Antipodes, the map of Tasmania is a reference to the vagina. Not only is it a lame lyrical turn of phrase but it's also one that, in 2011, is incredibly tired. It's not risque to talk about your cunt or even mildly amusing, it's just boring and does not mask poor song writing. Palmer sings, "they don't play the song on the radio, they don't show the tits on the radio". Correct. They probably won't play the song because Lady GaGa has this niche covered. They don't show anything on the radio so not showing Harper's tits on ABC Local Radio won't be anything to celebrate or complain about.


From a woman capable of much greater shows of genuine envelope pushing, this kind of crap is nothing but disappointing. I choose the word crap pointedly, not because I have no vocabulary. This is junk music of the kind that 30 years ago created a genuine pop star in Madonna. But now, it is a rag of a forgotten time. If Ms Palmer wants to shock and offend The West in 2011 she'd be better wearing a burqa while rapping of her self-confidence and telling us all she chose the clothing out of self respect.