beauty in a wicked world.

Neon colors, angel wings, choreographed dance moves, a crowded stage set that is probably against fire code, and of course, musical genius; all should be expected from the one-and-only Sufjan Stevens. Above, you will find Sufjan's debut network television performance (except for his surprise performance with The National on David Letterman here.) Fallon appears to almost be in awe of what takes place. He should be.

This past September, I had the honor and pleasure of enjoying Sufjan Stevens perform live in Dallas, TX on the Southern Methodist University campus. The most accurate comparison to seeing Sufjan in the flesh is finding a unicorn in your backyard on a snowy day in Hell. He hasn't toured in 4+ years, and when the opportunity presents itself, you make sure you get tickets for the show closest to you, no matter what the cost is. For the latest tour, he even hand picked all of the dates and venues himself. Its difficult to put into physical words how wonderful, ethereal, magical, passionate, notable, dorky, personal, etc. this concert was. It was impossible not to be mesmerized. Sitting in the front row of the pit helped a bit too. I must say that personally, I highly enjoyed his quirky dance skills. Not many people can make "awkward" look "cute", but he does it quite well. I've seen countless shows this year, and this rates as one of the top for 2010. If you STILL haven't jumped on the bandwagon and checked out his full length album The Age of Adz or his EP, All The Delighted People....do yourself a favor and purchase both (no, don't open a new tab on your browser and go straight to bit torrent). Sidenote, his opening act/current touring band member, DM Stith, is also worth checking out.

I've had a musical crush on Sufjan Stevens for years, and now that crush is creeping upon infatuation (too much?). He is absolutely adorable in every aspect. I was this close to stealing him right off the stage. Look at this man...whether you are male or female, how can you not feel the same way?