My sister Jen reviews Sufjan’s show in Milwaukee last night:
So the stage is set—thirteen stools and a veritable menagerie of instruments set out in rows and groups. The string section enters from the left, and at first you don’t really notice what they’re wearing, because you’re still in shock that there’s actually a string section. Then comes the brass section—two trumpets and a trombone—followed by a drummer, two miscellaneous instrumentalists and then finally, Sufjan. It is now that you notice what they’re all wearing: faux-communist Chinese army uniforms and butterfly wings. Yes, butterfly wings. Except, of course, for Sufjan, who has the larger, more stately wingspan of an eagle or a hawk. He steps to the microphone and says simply, “Hi, my name is Sufjan Stevens. Tonight I will be your Majestic Songbird,” he points to the ensemble, “and they will be your Magical Chinese Butterfly Brigade.”#