How soon is it acceptable to start playing holiday music? For Sufjan Stevens, the day after Thanksgiving is the perfect time.

For the first night of his new holiday tour, humorously titled the “Surfjohn Stevens Xmas Sing-A-Long Seasonal Affective Disorder Yuletide Disaster Pageant On Ice,” the songwriter came to Union Transfer to play for a sold-out crowd, a full backing band in tow.

The show featured many of the songs off of his new holiday music box set, Silver & Gold, which was released earlier this month on his label, Asthmatic Kitty.

“When I started recording these EPs, I hated Christmas music,” admits Stevens. “It was like an exercise in loving your own enemy.”

A large wheel, dubbed the “Wheel of Christmas,” inscribed with the names of numerous holiday classics such as
“Silent Night” and “Jingle Bells,” was spun every few songs. When the arrow landed on a carol, the audience sang with the band, using lyric booklets handed out at the beginning of the show.

Band members frequently tossed inflatable Santa toys to the enthusiastic audience, watching as they instantly disappeared without a trace.

But the night did not come without a few technicalities. The majority of the show came off as unrehearsed, due to frequent lyrical gaffes, microphone issues and a broken vocoder. Still, the performance was very
heartfelt and sincere.

While confetti and balloons dropped from the ceiling, Stevens closed the set with an encore performance of the
non-holiday song “Chicago,” from his critically acclaimed album Illinois. 

“For some of you, this might seem like a weird psychedelic nightmare, but for me it’s a dream come true,” he said.

Nothing better than a weird psychedelic nightmare to kick off the holiday season!