Pack Up Your Bags

Warning: Cute Guy with a Guitar

Sufjan Stevens is a very adorable man (in just about every sense, including absolute hotness). Thus, I was very pleased to attend his concert and Feel the Illinoise at the 40 Watt in Athens on Saturday night, especially after the last minute scramble to acquire tickets to the sold out event from a woman I still have not met but who will be getting a check in the mail from me.

Accompanied by Atlantan Mark Moore and Athenian Amy Salley, my adventure in Athens began, as all should, with food. I ate the equivalent of a small horse at The Grit (so I guess that would be a small tofu horse), which, with the assistance of several beers throughout the evening, made me quite full. Not tummy ache full, mind you, but I-can’t-get-comfortable-sitting-or-standing-and-good-lord-these-pants-are-tight full. Thus, the sold out crowd packed in around me at the 40 Watt, while highly amusing at times, contributed to excessive-body-heat-induced claustrophobia. Ok, I promise to stop using hyphens unless absolutely necessary.

I hesitate to use the term “precious” to describe Sufjan and his Illinoise Makers because the word has too many negative connotations, particularly when used in reference to artists. “Adorable” carries much of the same baggage. The problem is that Sufjan’s music can be quite complex (both in composition and orchestration) as can his lyrics. Both can be elegantly simple as well. And hey- that would be enough to make me like him and his pals. But the fact that they dressed up as cheerleaders and did ACTUAL cheers in between songs (complete with “Ready? OK! 2-3-4!” and hand motions) is what makes me want to draw hearts around all their shining faces and hug them collectively. I realize that doesn’t give either me or them a ton of indie cred, but, fortunately, they already have that in spite of my sappiness and I don’t really need it anyway.


Not All Cheerleaders Are Scary

While the highlight of my evening was most certainly the kids in cheerleading outfits singing and playing their hearts out, the funniest moment of the night (aside from a drunken midget girl with puffy blond hair barreling in and out of the crowd, which was less funny at the time to the tall girl with a bad case of claustrophobia) came to us courtesy of the cute and incredibly young looking freshman boy standing in front of us and whom we were heckling mercilessly. When Amy, fists up and brow furrowed, asked him “do you want to fight me?” at one point, he replied without hesitation “sort of?” Again- adorable and precious come to mind, but they just don’t do the justice.