oh what a world it seems we live in
Right, where do I start?
Last night was just wonderful. The venue was at the old Grand Opera House, which is this really small and cosy theatre just 15 minutes away. When we got there and saw Rufus's bus parked outside in the street, I think that was when all the four of us girls realised that we're seeing Rufus Wainwright in concert.
And what a concert it was. Joan as Policewoman opened up with some nice, mellow songs, but they were all rather forgettable, and I really was there to see Rufus perform. He did a two hour set from beginning to end, and his voice never wavered. It has this wonderfully clear, tonal quality to it (even though it's slightly nasal, but that's Rufus), and even during his faster songs with more layers of backing music it pierced straight through and soared. He has such a strong and gorgeous voice, and I couldn't believe -- still can't believe in fact -- that I was watching him live. He's a great performer, and is a force to be reckoned with when he's playing live. Just. Guh. And his fingers are pure magic as well, with nary a wrong note in the 25 songs in the setlist.
Banter-wise he was just adorable. He rambled on a bit about how much he loved Yorkshire puddings, and how the ones he ate in a restaurant that day were just horrible. Apparently his mother's boyfriend used to make them all the time, and he willingly admitted to having a bit of an obsession with Yorkshire puddings. And he did say that he had to practise saying the name of the venue a few times before the show, because he always ended up saying "New York Grand Opera House". :) He had a nap before the show to relax, and his hair was all ruffled and he was bleary-eyed, but omgsoadorable. And he calls Martha "sissy", which has to be the cutest thing EVER.
He did almost all of my favourites (save Harvester of Hearts) -- 14th Street, Vibrate, Beautiful Child, Hallelujah, Across The Universe, Dinner At Eight, Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk -- but the encore was worth the price of the ticket alone. He launched into Old Whore's Diet, this fantastic song on his new album, and stripped down to a sparkly blue and red thong, complete with stars. :D His ensemble was completed with fairy wings, black and bright blue striped socks (which had been amusing me the whole concert whenever he sat at the piano and his trouser legs hiked up), red pumps, a wand and a freaking tiara! Oh Rufus, I could not love you more. The rest of his band stripped down to g-strings as well (extra points to the guitarist that attached a fake parrot to his guitar and donned pirate gear while swinging a cutlass about), and the second half of Old Whore's Diet turned into this campy club atmosphere, with flashing lights and the band waving their hands about (and the keyboardist cracking his own whip).
Rufus was so into it, tottering about on his pumps and just hamming it up. And after that he did two of my favourite songs of his (Oh What A World and I Don't Know What It Is) while still in the thong. For Oh What A World they all dressed up as witches ("Oh what a world" is what the Wicked Witch of the West says in The Wizard of Oz while she's melting), and they all ended the song with their cloaks wrapped around themselves simulating puddles. :D It was so much fun! And in the middle of the song after the line about straight men, he tosses in "like half the men I've slept with" as an aside. *FLAIL* Utterly hilarious.
They finished off the second encore in bathrobes, after which the girls and I waited outside in the cold with a small group of fans outside the stage door. We had to be the youngest there though, about 3/4 of the concert crowd was made up of 30 and 40-somethings. After an hour of waiting he finally came out and gave autographs and took pictures with everyone that had waited. He was clearly tired after the set, but oh. There is nothing like standing up in front of him and having him sign my copy of Want Two, and OMG HE HUGGED ME. I HUGGED RUFUS WAINWRIGHT EEEEEEEEEEEE! :D:D:D:D:D I can't stop looking at my copy of Want Two, it's right in front of me as I'm typing this. That made up for us not bringing a single camera along to the show. :P
So that's it. I had a GREAT time and am still dreaming about it today. I mean, I got to see him up close and hug him! That memory isn't going to fade anytime soon (unless of course, I meet the Boys in London). I need an icon, stat, and I might be putting up some of my favourite songs of him for download sometime soon.
Last night was just wonderful. The venue was at the old Grand Opera House, which is this really small and cosy theatre just 15 minutes away. When we got there and saw Rufus's bus parked outside in the street, I think that was when all the four of us girls realised that we're seeing Rufus Wainwright in concert.
And what a concert it was. Joan as Policewoman opened up with some nice, mellow songs, but they were all rather forgettable, and I really was there to see Rufus perform. He did a two hour set from beginning to end, and his voice never wavered. It has this wonderfully clear, tonal quality to it (even though it's slightly nasal, but that's Rufus), and even during his faster songs with more layers of backing music it pierced straight through and soared. He has such a strong and gorgeous voice, and I couldn't believe -- still can't believe in fact -- that I was watching him live. He's a great performer, and is a force to be reckoned with when he's playing live. Just. Guh. And his fingers are pure magic as well, with nary a wrong note in the 25 songs in the setlist.
Banter-wise he was just adorable. He rambled on a bit about how much he loved Yorkshire puddings, and how the ones he ate in a restaurant that day were just horrible. Apparently his mother's boyfriend used to make them all the time, and he willingly admitted to having a bit of an obsession with Yorkshire puddings. And he did say that he had to practise saying the name of the venue a few times before the show, because he always ended up saying "New York Grand Opera House". :) He had a nap before the show to relax, and his hair was all ruffled and he was bleary-eyed, but omgsoadorable. And he calls Martha "sissy", which has to be the cutest thing EVER.
He did almost all of my favourites (save Harvester of Hearts) -- 14th Street, Vibrate, Beautiful Child, Hallelujah, Across The Universe, Dinner At Eight, Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk -- but the encore was worth the price of the ticket alone. He launched into Old Whore's Diet, this fantastic song on his new album, and stripped down to a sparkly blue and red thong, complete with stars. :D His ensemble was completed with fairy wings, black and bright blue striped socks (which had been amusing me the whole concert whenever he sat at the piano and his trouser legs hiked up), red pumps, a wand and a freaking tiara! Oh Rufus, I could not love you more. The rest of his band stripped down to g-strings as well (extra points to the guitarist that attached a fake parrot to his guitar and donned pirate gear while swinging a cutlass about), and the second half of Old Whore's Diet turned into this campy club atmosphere, with flashing lights and the band waving their hands about (and the keyboardist cracking his own whip).
Rufus was so into it, tottering about on his pumps and just hamming it up. And after that he did two of my favourite songs of his (Oh What A World and I Don't Know What It Is) while still in the thong. For Oh What A World they all dressed up as witches ("Oh what a world" is what the Wicked Witch of the West says in The Wizard of Oz while she's melting), and they all ended the song with their cloaks wrapped around themselves simulating puddles. :D It was so much fun! And in the middle of the song after the line about straight men, he tosses in "like half the men I've slept with" as an aside. *FLAIL* Utterly hilarious.
They finished off the second encore in bathrobes, after which the girls and I waited outside in the cold with a small group of fans outside the stage door. We had to be the youngest there though, about 3/4 of the concert crowd was made up of 30 and 40-somethings. After an hour of waiting he finally came out and gave autographs and took pictures with everyone that had waited. He was clearly tired after the set, but oh. There is nothing like standing up in front of him and having him sign my copy of Want Two, and OMG HE HUGGED ME. I HUGGED RUFUS WAINWRIGHT EEEEEEEEEEEE! :D:D:D:D:D I can't stop looking at my copy of Want Two, it's right in front of me as I'm typing this. That made up for us not bringing a single camera along to the show. :P
So that's it. I had a GREAT time and am still dreaming about it today. I mean, I got to see him up close and hug him! That memory isn't going to fade anytime soon (unless of course, I meet the Boys in London). I need an icon, stat, and I might be putting up some of my favourite songs of him for download sometime soon.