Autumn Marathon

He Danced…

Sufjan Stevens’ concert at the Philadelphia Academy of Music on Wednesday was the best set I attended all year.

As one of the tweets I read afterward correctly said - “the whole concert was a coherent work of art.”  The music was challenging, but beautiful; the songs mostly new, but with some classic tunes included.  They were all carefully sequenced. Projections on the stage screen were artsy and enhanced the music. Perhaps most surprisingly, given Sufjan’s origins as a folk singer with a guitar or banjo…he brought backup dancers (who also sang) and dance was integral to the show and in keeping with the music.

Most of the set was comprised of songs from his two new releases…with strong electronic overtones.  The main set started with Seven Swans and ended with his iconic Chicago…but both were offered in electronic orchestrations.  The encore was just Sufjan (no backing band) playing guitar and piano.  Here is the set list.

One thing common to both Sufjan’s old and new albums is the use of a horn section. This is true even in his oldest, quietest songs.  It’s still true in the most purely electronic songs off the current album.  The horn section is a big part of what makes him “sound like Sufjan.”

Sufjan’s voice was hoarse: it became more noticeable in the second part of the concert.  He mentioned the strain of a month on tour and that the remaining shows close to his Brooklyn home in Boston and NYC.   Still, he clearly left it all out on stage during the two hour performance.

It’s so encouraging to see an artist experiment, not simply sticking to formulas that have worked in the past. This is incredibly brave because failure is an option: either if the music itself isn’t that good or if the musician’s fans won’t accept the change. Sufjan’s talent and hard work may allow him to pull it off.

Persistence

Finished the Queens Half Marathon week before last in 2:38, a “personal worst.” It was 86F with 60% humidity when the race started at 7am and I could make several other legitimate excuses for the poor performance. There were many points during the race when I considered dropping out entirely. Early in the race, I told myself to just get to mile 3, then mile 5, then the 7 mile marker before throwing in the towel. After the halfway point, I thought about my goal of completing all 5 NYRR Borough half marathons in 2010. And later on about one of my running friends who shows up for every race and training run, displaying the same gracious smile through good and bad performances. Finally there were just 3,2, and 1 mile to go - by that point, you might as well just finish. After the race all I could do was smile and pose for a photo with my teammates. I was proud of finishing and at the same time, ashamed of my time. 3 boroughs down, 2 to go! Time has slowed from 1:49 in January to over 2:30 now. What is unquestionably satisfying is that the race is over and tomorrow, or later today, maybe, I’ll go for another run. This week I’ll adjust my training schedule. Maybe I’ll add another long run into my weekly routine. Or maybe I’ll continue the CrossFit strength and endurance regimen I started a few weeks ago. The following week, we might do a friendly long run in the Westchester woods (actually we ran a gorgeous run of all the East River crossings below 96th Street); the week after are the NYRR club championships, a celebration of local running spirit; and after that come the “summer streets” when a whole Manhattan avenue becomes the exclusive domain runners and cyclists for three Saturdays in a row. I am strong and healthy. I am a runner. There always is always the next race.