I Have It All Figured Out

Q:I just read your reply/post about Sufjan's Kansas City show last year. I remember after the Philadelphia show, standing right outside the entrance/tour bus with my friends. You passed and I said, "really great show" (I was wearing a puffy, down, electric blue vest). Your expression, a mixture of exasperation (or was it just exhaustion) and acknowledgment, haunts my mind every time I play your music. :p

My folks had come to that show, and maybe because of that, and maybe because the venue was taller than it was wide, and maybe because I sat pretty far forward on the stage and had to keep myself from scaling with my eyes the byzantine folds of that column just to keep from fainting…, maybe because of those things or because I was scared to play in front of my family, it was a tough show. Sufjan and Nedelle and I went to a drag show after the concert and I ran into a friend from college there and I found my grounding again. I found my grounding starring into the eyes of a heavily made up strong-chinned italian man in a blue satin prom dress. I dreamt that night that he bit my ear off but instead of feeling pain, I discovered that the inside of my mouth had become the texture of crumbly birthday cake and tasted sweet all over. You thought you saw Sufjan dance at the show that night, but let me tell you, he didn’t let loose until we got to that club.