September 16, 2005
Sufjan Comes to Illinois
Ok, before we get started, let's set the atmosphere a little.
Last night, my friend and I drove through the rain-drenched cornfields of Indiana to visit the bustling college town of Champaign-Urbana Illinois. And when I say rain-drenched, I mean it. I think the whole of Lake Michigan was taken up into the clouds and then showered onto us. Other than the rain, it would've been a really nice drive. There were little hills in the road that make your stomach drop and a few nice cemeteries and some barns and silos and such. We got there in time to eat at a little Thai place on the opposite side of the Canopy Club. I liked the way it looked with the shadows and the umbrellas, so I secretly snapped a photo.
And then we got at the end of a very, very long line. You know, for as many people as say "who?" when I mention going to see Sufjan, there are still quite a lot of people that don't need to ask. We were supposed to meet up with some friends there, but with the throng of people, I didn't see them.
So I went to see Sufjan in Salt Lake before I left. In fact, it was my last concert there, and now it was my first concert here. There's something about the cyclical aspect of that that I like, esp. as yesterday was also my one month anniversary of being in Indiana. (I know, I keep track of stuff like that. It's kind of weird, but whatever.) I loved seeing Sufjan in SLC, but it was so (and I mean so) hot. It was a little distracting and even though the cheerleaders put on a good show, you could tell they were exhausted. I was excited to see them in cooler conditions, not to mention in Illinois, home town of the album.
There were some tables and chairs about half way back in the club with reserved for signs on them. We eyed them for a while and when the show started and McBride and Co. never showed up, we took their spots. So... not only was it cooler, but we had perfect seats, although a little too far away to get some good pictures. Speaking of pictures, I tried to take a couple. They didn't turn out so well, but here they are anyway.
Those last one shows some of the cheers that went on throughout the night. Alas, I did not get a photo of the human pyramid. I love Sufjan. They even played an encore this time. We almost got them to come back out again, but they didn't.
We drove back late at night, feeling our stomachs drop along the road and turning the brights on around the curves, but the heavy mist just reflected the light back at me. I was afraid of running into animals. But there were no accidents.
Posted by kea at September 16, 2005 01:06 PM