Photo via Trust Me On This

A little over four years ago, I saw Sufjan Stevens perform at the Bowery Ballroom in New York the day after I moved to the city. It was certainly a different time then -- a little album called Illinois was still several weeks away from release, and Stevens treated a five night run at the Bowery as a rehearsal. Many of the things he'd come to be criticized for, like twee cheerleader uniforms, overly elaborate stage rituals, and possible overuse of the banjo, were still being tweaked before their ubiquity. These things were still fresh and new at the time though, both in terms of material and stage show, and it still sticks in my mind as one of my favorite concerts ever.

Now let's fast-forward to last night's Sufjan show at the similarly-sized Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn. Rather than rehearsal or preparation, the show was a chance to play what now passes for an intimate Sufjan performance, a loose chance to unwind. There were no stage antics, no uniforms, and very little banjo. In some ways the show was still a rehearsal, because as has been talked about widely, Stevens used the show to debut a handful of new songs.

I keep mentioning the lack of banjo, and that's because I keep thinking back to this quote Stevens gave to Pitchfork:

" Pitchfork: You say "these songs sound like songs I wrote," as if that's a surprise to you. Are you getting tired of your sound?

Sufjan: Yes. I'm getting tired of my voice. I'm getting tired of...the banjo. I'm getting tired of...the trumpet."

For a long time, it seemed like this was a lie, given his post-Illinois output. Of course, we're all quick to forget that he's only been releasing B-sides, essentially. These songs follow through on shedding the banjo, of using less horns. Instead, there's a heavy influence of both avant-garde music and electric guitar. The result has been a batch of impressive new songs that resemble the Dirty Projectors or Animal Collective if they were created by an orchestra-obsessed folkie from Michigan.

The mix works well for an artist that has, over the last few years, been accused of being innocuous, boring, and unwillng to step outside his comfort zone. The leap feels natural, too -- while the songs are definitely curveballs in his catalog, they're still distinctly Sufjan's songs. Stevens seems to be loosening up as well, seeming genuinely happy to be playing on stage for the crowd, which is refreshing after years of self-seriousness on stage. At one point Sufjan even stopped his band halfway through a new song called "Too Much Love," but not for any diva-type reasons: instead, he told the audience through his laughter that he forgot the song's words for a minute.

Hearing the new songs sprinkled in with the favorites of Illinois, Seven Swans, and Michigan is just another reminder of Sufan's versatility, and you'd better believe that his staying power is being proven once again. After an encore featuring the song "Jacksonville," Stevens thanked the audience of his tour's final show, and promised that he'd see us next year... and I certainly hope that means you'll all get to hear these new songs yourself very, very soon.