I love seeing Ezra Furman play music. He’s an amazing songwriter with a great band behind him. More than that, though, I love the crowds that he brings in to his shows. There are very few people that I wouldn’t recommend the music to, and as such you get all kinds of people in the audience. I saw some older people singing along with some younger folks in the front where I was, and nearly all walks of life were represented somewhere in the crowd. It’s a great example of the unifying power of music.

The new album, Transangelic Exodus, continues Furman’s trend of improving upon his previous work. He’s done a magnificent job of balancing the songs out with the light and dark side of being queer in America. He’s grown much more confident in who he is as the year’s have gone by, which is hopefully true of all of us. His stage presence, once full of nervous energy, is now a lightning rod of anger and hope that electrifies everyone there to hear him sing.