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Admittedly there were a lot of glittery brooches, there were black stockings, high heels and lipstick, there were the lederhosen and there was even a recorder-solo, yet Rufus Wainwright easily gets away with these frills without it becoming a camp charade. How does he do it?
First and foremost: by singing his knee-high socks off. I was stunned at the consistant power and pitch-perfection of his voice throughout the 23 song setlist. And it’s not as if there’s a lack of drama and high notes in a Wainwright show, but he nailed it every time. Quite frankly, swept up in the brilliant performance of a song like Do I Disappoint You, you don’t even notice there’s a man in lederhosen singing it to you.
Then of course there’s the band, 7 skilled and brooched multi-instrumentalists that make ”An evening with Rufus Wainwright and band” run like a well oiled machine. If there’s anything to find fault with, it would be that perhaps it’s all a bit too well oiled. Compared to Arcade Fire last week (which is not a very fair comparison, but for the sake of argument), there were certainly no band members running across the stage posessed by the sheer energy of the music. Each song was like a neatly packaged parcel, with a bow on top.
Las but not least, it’s Rufus himself. His charming between-song-chatter easily wins you over. Wether he’s encouraging the audience to get a few drinks down them in the break, referencing the people with portable beertanks that walked through the crowd when he opened for Keane (Rufus opening for Keane, it sure is an upside down world we live in), or when he’s telling a random story and gets a bit self conscious and boyishly says something like ”well, whatever, I had fun”.
The one thing that bugged me about this whole “An evening with…” concept was the sitting down!! I know this is in part a personal thing, I just find it impossible to sit still when I’m enjoying music. Last night I was constantly very aware of the huge black mass of people around me just sitting in their chairs whilst the band is churning out one great song after another, how extremely unnatural! “Why don’t we all leap up and sing and yell and dance??” I kept thinking to myself, but then again, I didn’t do it either. I joined the herd like a good little sheep and in stead sat twitching and writhing around within my personal chair space.
Next time you come Rufus, please leave the chairs at home. I’ll definitely be there!
Below is one of my (far far away & blurry) photos, the setlist and a snippet of Between My Legs with the Dutch competition winner Michelle.
01. Release The Stars
02. Going To A Town
03. Sanssouci
04. Rules And Regulations
05. Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk
06. The Art Teacher
07. Tiergaren
08. Leaving For Paris
09. Between My Legs
- – - – - – - – - – - – - -
10. Matinee Idol
11. Do I Disappoint You
12. A Foggy Day (Judy Garland cover)
13. If Love Were All (Judy Garland cover)
14. Beautiful Child
15. Not Ready To Love
16. Slideshow
17. 14th Street
- – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
18. I Don’t Know What It Is
19. Poses
20. Complainte De La Butte
21. Millbrook – dedicated to best friend Fred
22. Get Happy (Judy Garland cover)
23. Gay Messiah
What beter way to suppress your post-holiday-hangover than with some top notch concerts! Last week Arcade Fire blew my socks off, coming Tuesday I’m ready to be wooed by Rufus Wainwright.
Although I had heard several songs by him over the years, I never got into his music until I saw him perform ‘Vibrate’ on Jools Holland in 2004:
Before I often dismissed him for being too over the top and whiney for my liking, but this modest song won me over. The beautifully mobile-phone-age-way of saying you’re available to that particular person any time of day: “my phone’s on vibrate for you”.
It’s so instantly recognisable and sang over the deceptively simple bass plucking (you’ll need to check out the album version for that) it becomes a classic love song. Although Pitchfork disagrees with me, calling it a “cringeworthy attempt[...] to massage fragments of popular culture into his comi-tragedies”. I guess it’s a question of taste, but I quite enjoy the banal being elevated into a song with grandeur and strings.
I started listening to more of his music and, although the overly flamboyant side of the Wainwright spectrum is still not my favourite, found out there is much to love. Personal favourites include The Art Teacher (“here I am in this uniformish pant suit sort of thing”), Beautiful Child and from his latest album Release The Stars: Nobody’s Off The Hook, Going To A Town and Tulsa, the witty ode to Brandon Flowers, The Killers’ frontman.
During his tour for Release The Stars, Rufus has invited people up on stage to accompany him during the spoken word part of the song Between My Legs. Anyone wanting to participate had to post their audition on youtube, which makes for some hilarious viewing! Watch a few auditions here, here and here. This Dutch girl, Michelle, gets to sing with Rufus on Tuesday in the Heineken Music Hal, good luck!
I’m looking forward to a bit of the Judy Garland tribute material he did a while ago, to this day I’m a sucker for the original Wizard of Oz! The concert is seated and our seats are way at the back on the balcony, but it should still be a lot of fun. Here’s to getting camp in lederhosen!
Here’s some more Arcade Fire live in action in the Heineken Music Hall last Tuesday. Thanks to those who did a good job recording!
(Antichrist Television Blues), Win introduces the song with “you get what you paid for” and Regine sings her heart out to the audience without a mic.
Someone managed to catch the whole New Order cover Age of Consent in very decent quality, the audience kept up the challenging three-clap-rhythm for the whole song.
I’m Sleeping In A Submarine
(love that line “anti-aircraft guns have more fun in the sun”)
It’s 2 AM, I’m exhausted, my legs are already asleep as I write this, but I just have to get this post out of my system now while I still have some of those concert endorfines left. I thought the Lowlands gig was great, but that was merely an appetizer compared to this lavish spread! What a great show…
Even though we got in quite late (first attempting to sell our left over ticket, but with no result as there were quite a few vendors out there) we were still able to get to about the fifth row, centre stage at 19:30. Up until the last moment I was afraid this massive lump of a guy was going to stand in front of me, but I was lucky and had an excellent view.
There was a big roar when Arcade Fire wlaked on stage and they went straight into Black Mirror, full on, no holding back. Un deux trois dit miroir noir!!
The setlist:
Black Mirror
Neighborhood #2 (Laika)
No Cars Go
Haiti
I’m Sleeping In A Submarine
Black Wave/Bad Vibrations
In the Back Seat (wonderful!)
Neon Bible (followed by Age of Consent)
Intervention
The Well & the Lighthouse
Antichrist Television Blues
Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) (standout song of the evening in my book!)
Neighborhood #3 (Power Out)
Rebellion (Lies)encore:
Keep The Car Running
Wake Up
So about 17 songs in total. I have to say the sound in the Heineken Music Hall was good, at least from where we were standing. Only comment would be that Win’s mic seemed a bit low in the mix at the start of a few songs, but that was soon fixed.
Although we were close to the front, only about half of the people around us were really singing and dancing. I soon noticed the ‘hardcore’ group of AF-fans jumping about to my right, towards the violin girls. Wish we were stood over there too, it looked like a lot of fun and Regine even gave that part of the crowd a special thank you after a few songs.
Altogether though the audience was into the show and things definitely heated up after a while, particularly after the magic Power Out – Rebellion combo: that’s what making music is all about! Win did make one or two comments telling the people in the seats to get off their asses, maybe it was a bit tame at the back.
I don’t know if I was imagining things, but Regine seemed a bit emotional after singing a beautiful version of In The Back Seat, it really struck a chord with me tonight: “my family tree’s losing all its leaves…”
I got two of my three wish list songs (Tunnels and Black Wave, but sadly not Headlights Look Like Diamonds) and the very unexpected bonus of I’m Sleeping In A Submarine. At oone point Win came into the audience and stood just a few feet in front of me. I got all excited, fumbled to get my camera and of course only got an extremely blurry shot…
All in all it was a great night! I loved watching William and Richard running across the stage like men posessed, hitting everything in their path, Win starting to smile more and more as the show went on (retorting “I know what you mean man” when someone in shouted out “wake up” in between songs) and of course the lovely Regine… She’s just such a joy to watch with her little dances (Bjork-esque sometimes) and her facial expressions (especially the mischievous looks into the crowd).
They have such a great dynamic between them all, this band definitely has magic happening on stage and I for one can’t get enough.
Here’s a short bit of Regine singing Haiti during the concert (and Win and William abusing their guitars).
[Excuse the poor quality of the pictures and film...]
Quick note out of sheer giddy excitement: a mere 20 hours remain until I see Arcade Fire in the Heineken Music Hall!!!
Dear dear Regine, Win & co, please play Headlights Look Like Diamonds and Black Wave/ Bad Vibrations!…
Headlights Look Like Diamonds
Black Wave/ Bad Vibrations
After having comfortably wrapped myself in a blanket of denial all week long I now woefully have to acknowledge reality again: the holiday is over and there is work to be done. But I musn’t grumble, what an unforgettable three weeks it’s been! San Francisco is my newest favourite city on the globe, loved it. Las Vegas was insane, Yosemite, Grand Canyon, Death Valley and Big Sur all breathtaking in their own right.
However, to quote The Decemberists, the one place I was hoping to find new exciting music left me wretched, retching on all fours (quite literally…): Los Angeles. Horrible. The gritty, grimey, bleakness of it all, the faded sequin shimmer and boobjob beauties, the neon signs with all but 1 desperately blinking letter long busted… How do people live there??
We went to the Whisky a Go-Go… Granted, we probably should have known better. But its rock and roll legend status made it a must see on our one night stint in LA. We were excited at first: the line-up consisted of three ‘up and coming local bands’, sounded promising. However, once we got inside our disillusionment started: the place was filled with barely-teens (why do they let these infants in?) in rediculously hip outfits, beer was served in those horrible plastic cups at 7 dollars a pop and the whole place resembled a Museum of Coolness Past more than anything, with its naff Hard Rock Cafe style memorabilia in display cases. As my friend R said, after a few angrily downed vodkas to mourn the Doors-drenched magic she associated with the place up until that night: ”Is nothing sacred??”
But worst of all: the bands. First of all we were treated to “Tim and the 23’s”, with the guy on vocals, presumably Tim, impressing us all with tales of drunken nights and drugged out episodes in his fascinating life. Lyrical highlight of the set: “I’m wasted again, the bottle bottle bottle is my only friend”. The following act, Dick Calibur (honestly…) sounded marginally better, but the fact that they were all dressed as pirates didn’t do much for their image. Again though fellas, you might want to use some of the fashion creativity on composing some decent lyrics: “It’s a disease, I’m on my knees, oh baby please”…
We couldn’t take much more and decided to trade the third band on the bill for a binge session on Sunset Strip, which worked a treat as we didn’t remember much of what went on the following morning (hence the retching…).
As we drove out of LA, less than 24 hours after having arrived, feeling slightly taken advantage of and extremely rough around the edges but still having had a good time, this song by The Decemberists was the perfect soundtrack.
The Decemberists – Los Angeles, I’m Yours:
There is a city by the sea
A gentle company
I don’t suppose you want to
And as it tells its sorry tale
In harrowing detail
Its hollowness will haunt you
Its streets and boulevards
Orphans and oligarchs it hears
A plaintive melody
Truncated symphony
An ocean’s garbled vomit on the shore,
Los Angeles, I’m yours
Oh ladies, pleasant and demure
Sallow-cheeked and sure
I can see your undies
And all the boys you drag about
An empty fellow found
From Saturdays to Mondays
You hill and valley crowd
Hanging your trousers down at heel
This is the realest thing
As ancient choirs sing
A dozen blushing cherubs wheel above
Los Angeles I love
Oh what a rush of ripe élan
Languor on divans
Dalliant and dainty
But oh, the smell of burnt cocaine
The dolor and decay
It only makes me cranky
Oh great calamity,
Ditch of iniquity and tears
How I abhor this place
Its sweet and bitter taste
Has left me wretched, retching on all fours
Los Angeles, I’m yours
