Stevens' Show Satisfies

I saw him one week ago today at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. I was pleased to see that his significant success has not changed the shy, unassuming, soft-spoken Sufjan, with whom I once shared a poetry class, into a poser. From my seat (a good one at that), I smiled to see Sufjan wring his hands and hesitate with his words while he introduced each song. One of the amazing things about Sufjan is that, although he is a showstopper, he's no showboat. He lets his art speak for itself (and speak, it does). He seems to be the same bashfully prolific, overachieving genius that I knew in college. If you are familiar with Sufjan's work at all, you know that he operates in a sphere all his own. His level of creativity is impossible to compare to another. On stage -- you can see it in his eyes -- he is in another place, another world and he takes you there with him. The concert experience was, in a word, otherworldly. When Sufjan stood center stage and faced the lights, it was clear to me that he was connected to the true Source of creativity -- the Master Creator.The Avalanche, Illinois and Michigan, that inspired and refreshed me. The encore was just a confirmation that Sufjan is not in this for stardom. Rather than shooting off fireworks and presenting a no-bars, all-out finale, he, his guitarist, female vocalist and banjo player left the mics and instrument amplification silent, and presented two songs from Seven Swans (my favorite of his albums). An extremely intimate encore, "To Be Alone with You" (a song written to Christ) and "The Dress Looks Nice on You" (my two favorite tracks on SS, no less) left me in quiet awe of what I had witnessed that night. And in those moments, my soul was satisfied. I felt connected to God, the creative process, and -- for an hour-and-a-half -- my fellow college poet.