i was fortunate last night to be able to attend rufus wainwright's show at the gramercy theatre on 23rd street on the east side of manhattan. as usual - i attended with my concert-buddy ames (aka tixgirl - read her review of the show). it was nothing less than a family affair!
opening this glorious night was his cousin - lucy roche - playing numbers from her first and only ep (8 songs) just released to u.s. audiences that night. lucy was a pleasant start to the evening not only with her own works but with recreations from musical theatre and other songs from the fantastically talented wainwright clan.
in the audience - many members of the wainwright clan. too many to mention but they were in full force to support their own. mysteriously absent (at least from my seat) was rufus' sister martha. nonetheless - this was night one of what will be a 4 night gig at the gramercy theatre.
present in the crowd: golden globe nominated actress maggie gyllenhaal, rufus' boyfriend jörn weisbrodt, former ny club kid walt paper, tony nominee justin bond of kiki and herb (who actually did a cameo performance in the show seen in the pictures below), mike furey of dangerous muse, and if not her a very good carbon copy of fashion designer betsy johnson (we could not confirm if it was indeed her - now with jet black hair and conservatively dressed for the typically wild betsy.)
after a 20 or so minute break between sets - rufus (and band) mount the stage and in true rufus fashion - the fashion was as much a part of the show as the music. everyone in the band was wearing some form of stars (sparkly bangles) and stripes in honor of his new cd release the stars
and single 'going to a town.' rufus told a funny story about how the black and white flag he created didn't make it through customs in time for the show but would be there for the shows the following nights.
the show consisted of a lot of music from his new cd - which makes sense - and mixed in here and there were hits from previous cds - definitely crowd-pleasers. i always like seeing him with a full sound including his amazing brass section - and in that venue - wow - what an impact - intimate and brimming with quality. i could hardly believe i was in a renovated movie theater.
another break - had a beer and a wee - then back for the second part of the show. rufus this time had changed into german lederhosen. gotta love a man who can pull off leather shorts in june. the second part of the show was more of his older hits and great energy throughout as always.
encore - of course there was an encore - like 5 to be exact. rufus came out in a bathrobe and later did his tribute to judy garland in heels, hat, tuxedo jacket, black hose, lipstick and rhinestones - simply stunning with a dance break to boot.
in all - super fun - great energy - fantastic show. can't wait to see him again (and i will - central park - august 19th.)
opening this glorious night was his cousin - lucy roche - playing numbers from her first and only ep (8 songs) just released to u.s. audiences that night. lucy was a pleasant start to the evening not only with her own works but with recreations from musical theatre and other songs from the fantastically talented wainwright clan.
in the audience - many members of the wainwright clan. too many to mention but they were in full force to support their own. mysteriously absent (at least from my seat) was rufus' sister martha. nonetheless - this was night one of what will be a 4 night gig at the gramercy theatre.
present in the crowd: golden globe nominated actress maggie gyllenhaal, rufus' boyfriend jörn weisbrodt, former ny club kid walt paper, tony nominee justin bond of kiki and herb (who actually did a cameo performance in the show seen in the pictures below), mike furey of dangerous muse, and if not her a very good carbon copy of fashion designer betsy johnson (we could not confirm if it was indeed her - now with jet black hair and conservatively dressed for the typically wild betsy.)
after a 20 or so minute break between sets - rufus (and band) mount the stage and in true rufus fashion - the fashion was as much a part of the show as the music. everyone in the band was wearing some form of stars (sparkly bangles) and stripes in honor of his new cd release the stars
and single 'going to a town.' rufus told a funny story about how the black and white flag he created didn't make it through customs in time for the show but would be there for the shows the following nights.the show consisted of a lot of music from his new cd - which makes sense - and mixed in here and there were hits from previous cds - definitely crowd-pleasers. i always like seeing him with a full sound including his amazing brass section - and in that venue - wow - what an impact - intimate and brimming with quality. i could hardly believe i was in a renovated movie theater.
another break - had a beer and a wee - then back for the second part of the show. rufus this time had changed into german lederhosen. gotta love a man who can pull off leather shorts in june. the second part of the show was more of his older hits and great energy throughout as always.
encore - of course there was an encore - like 5 to be exact. rufus came out in a bathrobe and later did his tribute to judy garland in heels, hat, tuxedo jacket, black hose, lipstick and rhinestones - simply stunning with a dance break to boot.
in all - super fun - great energy - fantastic show. can't wait to see him again (and i will - central park - august 19th.)
for more photos of the performance check out my flickr account.
1 comment:
Awesome recap, Jonathan! I second everything you said. And why review it myself, when I can just link to you?!
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