Reviewed on Monday March 10

Love or loathe him (though I’m not sure the latter is even possible), Rufus Wainwright sure knows how to deliver a strange show. At the risk of spoiling the necromancy, this was most evidenced with the surprise guest appearance of ‘Judy Garland’, who arrived on the heels (quite literally, you suspect) of daughter Liza Minnelli to add a touch of camp glamour to this entertaining and surprisingly lengthy performance.

Opening was Wainwright’s sister Lucy Wainwright Roche, who along with fellow sibling-muso Martha proves that the Wainwright family are probably magic. Her songs swing from the delicately sad, as in the lovely ‘Open Season’, to surreal observations about wading through piles of babies awaiting adoption. Her sing-along to Springsteen’s little-known ‘Everybody’s Got A Basketball’, however, was the unlikely highlight.

Rufus himself was seemingly born into performance. The familiar ease with which he addresses his audience, his relish of the double entendre (this was post-Mardi Gras, after all) and his quite impressively snug leather pants were all somehow hallmarks of an entertainer at the height of his talent. And my God, such virtuosic piano. Hearing his songs is one thing, but watching Wainwright summon sounds from his piano is an exercise in awe. Even the imperfections became fascinations, as in the “Ahhh, I always fuck up the difficult part!” stumble in the midst of new song ‘Lucy’s Blue’.

On occasion Wainwright would abandon the piano and spring about stage on guitar, which certainly served to break up the evening somewhat but also – reluctant as I am to criticise a fellow I found so preternaturally entertaining – worked to showcase just what an exceptional pianist he is.

The evening was also Wainwright’s opportunity to thank and reward those who pledged to his recent operatic project, with one backer finding themselves with a dedicated aria (though sung in French, so who knows – perhaps Wainwright was bitching about the guy the whole time).

Highlights? Where to begin? ‘April Fools’ was lovely, as was crowd favourite ‘Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk’. My money, though, totally impartially rested on one of my very favourite songs, ‘Foolish Love’, also serving as the finale. Wainwright’s voice is unlike any other, and his songwriting staggering. I cannot recommend highly enough catching so fine a talent.

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