From the Salmon

When Sufjan Stevens first announced his tour schedule in support of Illinois (my review), I was surprised that he decided to kick things off in California rather than, say, Illinois. But since the early days of the tour brought Sufjan and his Illinoisemakers to San Francisco’s Great American Music Hall for the last two nights, I’m not about to quibble over strategy.

The two nights were very similar in many ways. Both sets were surprisingly short (Sunday’s was a little over an hour long; Monday’s was only slightly longer), had virtually identical setlists, and were almost wholly comprised of songs from Illinois.

On the whole, Monday night’s concert seemed tighter, more energetic, and more satisfying than the night before. That might be because Monday wasn’t a travel day for them. It might be because they’re still gelling as a band. Or it might be because I was early enough to grab a spot in the front row instead of looking down from our Sunday seats in the balcony. (Mind you, that spot came with the usual dose of Tall Person’s Guilt… if you’re reading this and you were behind me, I’m sorry.)

In the days leading up to the shows, I was eagerly anticipating how Sufjan’s complex pieces would translate to live performance. With few exceptions, they work quite well. In fact, some of the more effective moments of the evening came in places where Stevens had modified the arrangement to take advantage of his ensemble’s strengths.

Sunday began with a dirgelike solo acoustic reworking of “Concerning the UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois.” After that, the band bounded onstage wearing uniforms straight out of a University of Illinois pep rally. With percussion instruments and pompoms in hand, they launched into a stirring new a capella intro to “The Tallest Man, The Broadest Shoulders.”

The pep rally aspect of the show was, well, a little forced. If the group ever unapologetically throws itself into the “cheers,” it might be an effective bit of silliness. Instead, it was awkwardly self-conscious. The final cheer did bring the biggest laugh of the night when the group unexpectedly rhymed “Metropolis” with the names of two 80s television sitcom icons. I’ll leave it to your overactive imaginations to figure out which two.

As we looked down from on high on Sunday, it was amusing to see how much of the audience struggled with how to move along with Sufjan’s unusual time signatures. The one song that really worked the crowd was the funk-infused “They Are Night Zombies!! They Are Neighbors!! They Have Come Back From The Dead!! Ahhhh!”

On Monday, the setlist went from “The Seer’s Tower” to “John Wayne Gacy, Jr.” to “Casimir Pulaski Day,” a stunning stretch of songwriting that kept raising the bar for spinechillingly beautiful moments. As if a song like “Gacy” needed to be kicked up an emotional notch, they’ve added a breathtaking epilogue of ascending minor scales where each additional vocal or instrumental layer incrementally tightens the song’s hold on your heart.

Other musical highlights included Sunday’s gorgeous rendition of “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and Monday’s opening theme “The 50 States.” Monday’s encores (after a quick costume change by the band) brought the pair of shows to a satisfying conclusion with Sufjan’s reinterpretation of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and a delicate solo version of “Romulus,” which smoothed over the awkwardness left after attention seekers screamed to fill the poignant silence at the end of the previous anthem.

The one major disappointment for me was the song that happens to be my musical favorite from Illinois: “The Predatory Wasp Of The Palisades Is Out To Get Us!” What makes that song so powerful to me is its driving, pulsating rhythm, particularly as the song tears on toward its conclusion. Stevens decided instead to give voice to the “terrible storm” of the closing lyrics by veering the song off into utter cacophony. I understand the choice, but I found it to be an unfortunate one.

From my vantage point on Monday, I also got an interesting glimpse into Sufjan’s perfectionist side. After having total control in the studio and playing just about every instrument on the album, Stevens faces a different challenge in pulling together an ensemble to perform his complex pieces on stage. From time to time, he would show the tiniest scowl, a slight head shake, or an almost imperceptible glance in another musician’s direction. I’ve spent enough time in front of a conductor to recognize the dreaded expression — the one that means extra notes next rehearsal. At one point, I swear I even saw him mutter “That wasn’t good enough.” Later, he rendered judgment on his own guitar part with a quiet “This is so lame.”

All of this was quite subtle; I don’t want to suggest that Sufjan is some sort of petulant diva. Far from it. His overall stage presence is humble and sheepish to the point of being downright charming. And he was quick to praise members of his ensemble for nailing a particularly difficult part. But I will suggest that these tendencies will likely lead to much tighter and progressively better concerts in the weeks and months to come.

Now that I think about it, I’m beginning to understand why Sufjan and friends didn’t start out in their album’s title state. After witnessing the work in progress over the last two nights, I think I see now that they’re building to the Illinois dates. And I’d give a lot to be at the Metro on September 16.