just enough foolishness: SUFJAN

My brother started his undergrad at Calvin College in 2001. There he was introduced to the music of Sufjan Stevens, a quirky, folk musician from Detroit. I remember Stevie recounting a post-concert Q&A, describing how Sufjan would applaud with the audience, seemingly unaware that they were applauding for him. That's were our love of Sufjan Stevens began. It continued through college, through many gorgeous Sufjan concerts, into when Stevie and I lived together in NYC in 2007. We went to the church Sufjan's friend Vito pastors, but Sufjan wasn't there. Stevie went to a small concert of a musician Sufjan is rumored to be friends with. Sufjan wasn't there either. We joke that we "stalked Sufjan" that summer. I also joked about making a shirt with Sufjan's face and the words "SAVING MYSELF FOR SUFJAN." I never made it, and we didn't really stalk our favorite musician, but we do love Sufjan. We wrote a lot of music that summer in NYC (as chronicled here) and it was definitely influenced by, you guessed it!, SUFJAN.

Last night we went to see Sufjan outside in Prospect Park- part of the Celebrate Brooklyn concert series. We just saw him last Fall in Boston at the Orpheum, where he seemed more on and in love with life and music than ever. He spoke at length about Royal Robertson, the artist that inspired the most recent album The Age of Adz, and infused the entire space with pure joy. Last night the whole of Prospect Park was full of it too. My husband said he'd never been to such a positive concert, and his sister Amanda said it was "happy music." Its true of both albums that came out this year- even in their darkest moments they are hopeful, with lyrics like "when I die I'll rot/while I live I'll give it all I got." The beats are strong and dance-y. The sound is BIG. And as always, Sufjan is genuine. This is what make his music moving for me- he is genuine and passionate. It goes back to that time when Stevie saw Sufjan clapping right along with the audience. That lack of pretense is awfully engaging and endearing. Here's a favorite Sufjan quote of mine: "I went through a period of questioning motive and function and now I no longer have the privilege of questioning. I just have the privilege of celebrating my music and sharing it...those existential conundrums are really circuitous and – what's the word? – unproductive" (read the full article here).

Our pre-show picnic: