I’ve never been so excited about going to see a bloke wearing a baseball cap sing a bunch of songs about death. Although that doesn’t sound particularly good on paper, it’s broadly true. Sufjan Stevens’ recent album, Carrie & Lowell, on which he explores the loss of his mother, is a distillation of everything that he does well – moving, poignant, believable and accessible music.

 

Carrie & Lowell is not a record that exactly lends itself to acid jazz interpretations, so it came as no surprise that much of the set was built around Stevens on guitar, banjo or piano, with thoughtful backing. That’s not to say this was a disappointment, on the contrary, songs of such fragility and exquisiteness like Death With Dignity and Eugene rightly received very faithful renditions because they are basically perfect as they are. Stevens performed them with captivating intensity, soul and sensitivity. Likewise, he cast a spell over the Dome with No Shade In The Shadow Of The Cross; its heavenly harmonies sending tingles down the spine.

 

He also carefully selected the right songs to embellish. Drawn To The Blood appeared early in the set with ramped up sonics and an injection of drama that built on the template laid down on record. All Of Me Wants All Of You was reimagined as slinky, glocky and clock-like half-time groove, and Fourth of July was delivered with enhanced tautness through a bold, cold precision.

 

Blue Bucket Of Gold was to provide the evening’s centrepiece. Firstly, the song itself is a gem – swelling, swirling and twisting – utterly compelling, but then Stevens had the Dome transformed into a spinning planetarium via focusing the stage’s spotlights onto two enormous disco balls suspended from the ceiling. Everyone’s gaze was trained upwards as a set of dreamy loops and hushed female vocals made it feel like you were traversing space in the comfiest of bubbles. Vangelis-like bleeding synth chords of grace sashayed over the top and suddenly I felt like Harrison Ford, lost in a daydream… or was it a daydream? Anyway, it was a unique experience that morphed into a two chord nearly-white noise outro. A couple of minutes pass, which was fine, but 10 minutes in, it’s clear that a challenged is being laid down. I would have been happy to nip it in the bud after a few minutes, but when the song is finally concluded (along with the main part of the set), the audience reaction is overwhelmingly positive – a standing ovation and a relentless and raucous demand for an encore saw the Dome erupt in a well of noise, love and sheer joy for what preceded.

 

A visibly relaxed Stevens comes back for the encore. After not having uttered a word in the main part of the set, he’s now talkative, charming and funny (I expected no less). The seven song encore served as a reminder of Stevens’ songwriting pedigree with tracks covering at least four previous albums. Concerning The UFO Sighting Near Highland, Illinois is all quirky trilling banjos, Futile Devices burns slowly, bubbling with control, and Casimir Pulaski Day is a modern day folk classic with a divine vocal arrangement. Finishing with a nicely subdued Chicago is exactly the note I want Stevens to go out on – staying true to his songs: some of the best of a generation.

Adam Atkins