“I feel like I’m going through puberty. There’s such a mess of hormones on stage tonight.” Yup. Gone were the butterfly wings and cheerleaders, but the pomp and circumstance remained. Sufjan Stevens is back after a quite some time with over two hours of new music in his arsenal. Dressed casually in a t-shirt, Sufjan starts the set with the title track of his 2006 album “Seven Swans.” It’s simple, plaintive, discordant and perfect. It’s also the oldest song he plays tonight. The rest of the main set, excluding closer “Chicago,” is pulled entirely from this years Age Of Adz LP and All Delighted People EP. It’s for the best. The new stuff translates brilliantly on stage.

Click through for the rest of the review and the set list…

“Too Much” marks the introduction of a screen which lowers down in front of the band, making it almost seem like we’re watching a concert film in Imax. By the end of the song, lights and projections are bouncing off the four walls on stage creating an illusion only seen at The Knife shows.

Sufjan is uncharacteristically forthcoming tonight, much in line with the theme of his new record. He compares his recent heartbreak, one of the many inspirations for Age Of Adz, to the end of the world before playing the titular track. It gives new insight into the song, and Sufjan Stevens, whose flair for the dramatic isn’t solely confined to his many ten minute plus epics. Horns blare, two drummers compete (one electric, one acoustic), and Sufjan swaps instruments effortlessly. This is all done with meticulously silly choreography. It’s already a spectacle, and we’re only three songs into the show.

“Futile Devices” is a highlight, featuring a gorgeous solo by Steve Moore on the Casio SK1. The woman next to me was moved enough to ask Sufjan to marry her. He said; “No. Marriage is a social construct. Age is a social construct… Fatigue is a social construct… I’m such a whiner.”

“The Owl & The Tanager” and “Enchanting Ghost,” both from the new EP sound great here. Most songs are rearranged, the electronics altered, played live and riffed on. It all works. Considering the avant source material, this band effortlessly improvises through 8, 9 10 minute jam sessions, keeping the audience so engaged, you can actually hear someone in the back of the theater gasp when Sufjan sings “You little boy, you little boy.” It is a good part.

But make no mistake, nothing compared to “Impossible Soul.” On record it’s about 25 minutes, tonight it had to be 40. And what an exciting 40 minutes. Costume changes, multiple set pieces, a dance breakdown while the entire band chanted “Go Sufy! Go Sufy.” This song could’ve been it’s own concert. I hadn’t seen the previously sedate Wiltern audience dance all night, but as if on cue, we all jump up and join him. Sufjan came back for a trio of Illinoise tracks. They were good but it was a significant comedown from the main set, proving that where Sufjan Stevens is, is where he needs to be right now. Even if that is in the midst of a second puberty. Go Sufy!

Set List:
“Seven Swans”

“Too Much”

“Age of Adz”

“Heirloom”

“I Walked”

“Futile Devices”

“Vesuvius”

“The Owl And The Tanager”

“Get Real, Get Right”

“Enchanting Ghost”

“Impossible Soul”

“Chicago”


ENCORE 

“Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois”

“Casimir Pulaski Day”

“Jacksonville”