I saw Rufus!!!
I made my second visit to Ravinia last night with my coworker Josh while foolish Dennie stayed home, and it only confirmed by first reaction that I really, really love it there.
We went to hear Rufus Wainwright whose recordings I have been collecting for several years. He had two opening acts that were great fun, too.
A Fine Frenzy is a trio--the "front man" is a British girl who sings and plays piano. Very pleasant.
The second act, The Magic Words, is a London band composed of two brother and sister duos. Their music was exhilarating--great guitarwork, lovely vocals, exciting rhythms. I can't wait to listen to their CDs while walking in the park.
Finally the headliner--the seven band members showed up all in vertical stripes. Then Rufus entered wearing lederhosen. They played a great set--lots of his most famous numbers in interesting new arrangements featuring a brass section with a French horn. Rufus also did some acoustic piano numbers and Noel Coward's "If Love Were All" from his Judy Garland show.
The encore numbers were a great show all by themselves. Rufus returned to the stage in a white bathrobe and performed an acoustic number in French. Josh said it's a Charles Aznavour song. Then he came down to the edge of the stage, clipped on some sparkly earrings, put on lipstick, took off the robe to reveal the classic Garland black jacket and added the black hat. The bandmembers returned in black suits and they performed an energetic staged routine to the classic "Get Happy." Finally the band grabbed three guitars and the string bass and perfomed one final Wainwright original. It was a great night at a gorgeous venue!!!
We went to hear Rufus Wainwright whose recordings I have been collecting for several years. He had two opening acts that were great fun, too.
A Fine Frenzy is a trio--the "front man" is a British girl who sings and plays piano. Very pleasant.
The second act, The Magic Words, is a London band composed of two brother and sister duos. Their music was exhilarating--great guitarwork, lovely vocals, exciting rhythms. I can't wait to listen to their CDs while walking in the park.
Finally the headliner--the seven band members showed up all in vertical stripes. Then Rufus entered wearing lederhosen. They played a great set--lots of his most famous numbers in interesting new arrangements featuring a brass section with a French horn. Rufus also did some acoustic piano numbers and Noel Coward's "If Love Were All" from his Judy Garland show.
The encore numbers were a great show all by themselves. Rufus returned to the stage in a white bathrobe and performed an acoustic number in French. Josh said it's a Charles Aznavour song. Then he came down to the edge of the stage, clipped on some sparkly earrings, put on lipstick, took off the robe to reveal the classic Garland black jacket and added the black hat. The bandmembers returned in black suits and they performed an energetic staged routine to the classic "Get Happy." Finally the band grabbed three guitars and the string bass and perfomed one final Wainwright original. It was a great night at a gorgeous venue!!!