Rufus Wainwright- All These Poses Tour

Rufus Wainwright is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his debut album with the All These Poses tour, where he plays songs from his first two albums. Nicola and Belinda joined me for tonight's show at the Melbourne Recital Centre, which is a dream venue acoustically to hear Rufus sing in. Opening the evening was one of his band members, Rachel Eckroth, who played a half hour set of atmospheric songs on keyboard while also utilising samples, loops and vocal effects.

Rufus is touring with a five piece band and they started the evening with his very first single "April Fools" (I remember when that video came out in 1998). The show was broken up into two parts, with the first half focused on songs from his eponymous debut album. Rufus was dressed in a top hat and jacket but took those off a few songs in to reveal a gold sequin tank top with his high-waisted striped pants and suspenders. He played many of my favorites off the album, including "Barcelona," "Danny Boy," "Millbrook," "Foolish Love," "In My Arms" and "Beauty Mark," which is about his mother Kate McGarrigle. He had a few funny stories to tell about his mom, including that Joni Mitchell was banned in their household. This didn't stop him from participating in her recent 75th birthday tribute concert and singing for us her song "Both Sides, Now," which was absolutely amazing and brought some of the audience to their feet after it. He also played his latest single, "Sword Of Damocles," which was inspired by Donald Trump.

After a brief intermission the show continued, with the second half focused on songs from Rufus' second album Poses. He came out in a very decorative and heavy jacket and started with "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk." The set list balanced between the more upbeat tracks such as "California," "Grey Gardens" and "Shadows" and slower ballads like "Poses," "One Man Guy," "The Tower Of Learning" and "In A Graveyard," which he performed solo on piano to finish the set.

For the encore Rufus came back out in a red bomber jacket and played "Imaginary Love" off his debut album, the emotional "Going To A Town" off Release The Stars (my very favorite song of his), and then finished the night with The Beatles' "Across The Universe" accompanied by a choir of audience members. This was such an amazing show and a privilege to get to hear his first two albums live in person after listening to them so many times over the years.

Here's the video for "Sword Of Damocles"

Rufus Wainwright- Vibrate Tour

Rufus Wainwright has returned to Australia to play some solo shows in support of his best of album Vibrate.  Simon joined me for tonight's concert at the Palais Theatre. The opening act was Rufus' half-sister Lucy Wainwright Roche, who played a solo folk set on acoustic guitar. She was very funny in between songs and requested questions from the crowd. One person asked if she and Rufus ever played together as children and she recounted a story of Rufus having her pretend to lay dead on the couch while he sang arias to her. Besides her own songs she played a cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" (complete with an audience sing along) and a track off an album of dark lullabies that she is currently recording with her sister Martha Wainwright.

Rufus came out in jeans and a pink patterned jacket and sat at the piano to start his set with "Grey Gardens." This was the first time I have seen him live without a band. He alternated between piano and acoustic guitar as he played songs from throughout his career. I was really excited to hear older songs such as "Beauty Mark," "Vibrate," "April Fools," "Gay Messiah" and my personal favorite "Going To A Town." We also got the more recent tracks "Out Of The Game," "Montauk," "Sonnet 20" and an aria from his recently recorded opera Prima Donna. Rufus' voice sounded absolutely amazing during the night, and at one point he said he was channelling Joan Sutherland. It wouldn't have been a Rufus show without some humorous moments, and we were visited on stage by Liza Minelli and Judy Garland before he and Liza (aka Lucy) duetted on the song "Me and Liza." Rufus also worked through a brand new song called "Lucy's Blue" and finished the main set with "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk."

The encore started with another one of my favorites "The Art Teacher" and then he invited out the Melbourne Hallelujah chorus (people who pledged a certain amount for the recording of Prima Donna). Rufus and Lucy did a duet of "Pretty Things" before the chorus joined in for Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which sounded great. The first encore finished with "Poses" and then Rufus came back out and sang "Foolish Love" to close the evening. This was another fantastic concert by Rufus and it's always a privilege to see such a talented musician play in person. If you don't own any of his albums start off with Vibrate and then work your way through his back catalogue.

Here's the video for "Me and Liza"

Rufus Wainwright- Out Of The Game Tour

Last night I headed off to the Arts Centre for Rufus Wainwright's sold out show at Hamer Hall.  This was my first time seeing the newly renovated Hamer Hall and the building is much more open now and looks great.  I managed to get a seat in the stalls close to the front so I had a good view of the stage.  The opening act was US singer-songwriter Krystle Warren, who is also a member of Rufus' band.  She played a half hour set of bluesy songs on acoustic guitar and had an expressive and soulful voice.

Rufus and his band emerged onto the darkened stage and started with an a cappella version of "Candles" before launching into "Rashida."  Rufus was wearing a sparkling white suit from his recent wedding that he said made him look like a snowflake.  The set featured many songs from his fantastic new album Out Of The Game, including my favorites "Perfect Man," "Montauk," and "Out Of The Game."

Rufus was very funny with his between song banter.  We were treated to some old favorites such as "April Fools," "Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk," "Going To A Town," "The Art Teacher" and "14th Street."  There was also a portion of the set which featured songs from Rufus' parents.  Teddy Thompson and Krystle Warren each sang a Kate McGarrigle song (Teddy's version of "Saratoga Summer Song" was amazing), and then Rufus and Teddy did Loudon Wainwright's "One Man Guy" (which was also on Rufus' album Poses).

The encore for the show was probably one of the biggest spectacles ever.  The band came out in costumes along with a man dressed as cupid, and they had everyone get up on their feet and dance in order to summon Rufus Apollo to the stage for a dance party.  Rufus eventually appeared in the crowd wearing a toga, blond wig, eye mask and glitter all over his body singing "Bitter Tears."  He wandered around the section I was sitting in and gathered a group of people from the crowd and led them in a conga line up onto the stage.  Towards the end of the song Teddy emerged with a giant lightening bolt and struck Rufus down.  He then proclaimed that he was in fact the "Gay Messiah" and they finished the night with that song.  It was another fabulous Rufus show and a fun time as always when he plays with his band.

Here's the video for "Out Of The Game" featuring Helena Bonham Carter

Rufus Wainwright

After an afternoon of catching up with Will and Helen at Edinburgh Gardens in North Fitzroy (they are in town from the UK), I headed into the city to see Rufus Wainwright play at Hamer Hall. Despite being a fan of Rufus since his debut album, this was the first time I had seen him perform live. I had a seat up in the balcony with a great view of the whole stage. Rufus has a full band with him for most of this Australian tour, and they were excellent and very versatile musicians. The setlist:
- Release The Stars
- Going To A Town
- Sanssouci
- Rules And Regulations
- Matinee Idol
- The Art Teacher
- Tiergarten
- Leaving For Paris
- Between My Legs
(Intermission)
- The Consort
- Do I Disappoint You
- Foggy Day
- If Love Were All
- Beautiful Child
- Not Ready To Love
- Slideshow
- Macushlah
- 14th Street
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- I Don't Know What It Is
- Poses
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- Get Happy
- Gay Messiah

The sound in Hamer Hall was absolutely fantastic- the best I have ever heard at a concert. My favorite songs of the night were "Going To A Town," "Slideshow," and "Poses." The lighting and staging really enhanced a lot of the songs and Rufus performed material from all his albums. We even got a few Judy Garland numbers- complete with Rufus in drag for the encore. It was an amazing concert and I am so glad I went.