Rufus Wainwright Delivers Stunning Set in the Suburbs: Concert Review

One song into his set Saturday night at the Valley Performing Arts Center on the campus of Cal State, Northridge, Rufus Wainwright admitted that he didn't know the San Fernando Valley suburb existed except for the 1994 earthquake.

Some of the subscribers at the theater, which is sort of the valley's answer to the Disney Concert Hall, may have felt the same way about the singer-songwriter before Saturday night's show. But following his stunning 90-minute set, they'll likely never forget him.

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Performing solo, alternating between piano and acoustic guitar, Wainwright was at times incredibly moving, at others funny, but always entertaining. The bare-bones setting showcased his superb talents as a vocalist, musician and songwriter since there was no wall of sound to hide behind, or fellow musicians to prop him up. Rather, he performed strikingly solo, occasionally acknowledging the long shadow of his famous family of musicians, the ghost of his old friend and his own modern family.

In general, the songs Wainwright performed on guitar were more jaunty, such as "Out of the Game," the should-have-been-a-hit title track from his 2012 release. Wainwright joked it was supposed to be "a massive hit, but two things went wrong. The kids couldn't relate to the title … and then there was this massive Korean guy." Hit or not, the song highlighted Wainwright's expert vocal phrasing and sounded like a lost classic.

The numbers performed on piano were more melancholic, sometimes employing seemingly free-form song structures that made them sound like poems put to music, rather than songs with traditional verses and choruses. Particularly moving was "Martha," a musical voicemail to his sister and fellow artist, highlighted by Wainwright's repeated heart-wrenching pleas to his sister to "call me back." That was followed by a monologue in which Wainwright recounted his early struggles for stardom in New York and his hate and jealousy of another son of a folk legend, Jeff Buckley.

Yet when Wainwright found success and returned to New York, Buckley turned up at one of his shows, and Wainwright discovered he was "a great artist and lovely guy, and of course I fell in love with him." A few weeks later, Buckley drowned in the Mississippi. Again at the piano, Wainwright performed "Memphis Skyline," his poignant tribute to Buckley, followed by "Hallelujah," the Leonard Cohen song he and Buckley recorded and helped transform into a modern standard. Even after Wainwright stumbled on the lyrics and let out an expletive, it was transcendental.

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Performing in a custom Cameron Helm hand-painted suit, Wainwright lightened the mood with a tale of guitar shopping in Korea before performing "California." Later he admitted he's "afraid of guitars" because his father, Loudon Wainwright III "plays guitar." He also noted his mother, the late Kate McGarrigle's prowess on a number of instruments. McGarrigle was referenced in the chilling "Zebulon," in which Wainwright employed a hypnotic repetitive chord pattern and turned his gaze heavenward as his vocals soared. He also honored his mother by covering "The Walking Song," one of his songs that will be included on the forthcoming tribute album Sing Me the Songs.

Yet perhaps the greatest insight into Wainwright as an artist and performer came in "Gay Messiah," which he performed after mentioning he recently witnessed some disturbing anti-gay protests in Paris, and "Montauk," which opened the first encore, following a standing ovation. Wainwright explained the song, which references two dads, was for his daughter Viva, and it's likely the most tuneful tale of a modern family you'll ever hear.

Set List:

The Art Teacher
This Love Affair
Grey Garden
Out of the Game
Jericho
Matinee Idol
Martha
Memphis Skyline
Hallelujah
California
11:11
Gay Messiah
Going to a Town
Zebulon
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk

Encore

Montauk
The Walking Song
Foolish Love
Poses

Twitter: @THRmusic

Update: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Wainwright performed barefoot.

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Paul McCartney Brings Joyous Pop Music to Barclays Center: Concert Review

Somewhere, in one of his many homes, there surely must be a portrait of Paul McCartney that’s aging rapidly.

That’s the only explanation for the seemingly undiminished youthfulness and musical vitality of the former Beatle that was on ample display in his concert Saturday night at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, one of the stops on his Out There tour. Performing more three dozen songs over the course of nearly three uninterrupted hours, McCartney, about to turn 71, delivered a career-spanning set that brought musical history to life before a rapt, multi-generational audience.  

For many of them, it was no doubt the musical equivalent of attending a fiftieth high-school reunion and making out with the person who took you to the prom.

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At this point in his career, reviews of his shows are superfluous. One merely has to scroll down to the set list below to fully appreciate the impact of his concert which culled from the greatest catalogue in pop music. And while the evening differed little from his tours of recent years--including much of the same between-song banter and the bombastic pyrotechnics accompanying “Live and Let Die”--McCartney carefully provided a few special treats in the form of several Beatles classics that he has rarely or never before performed live.

These included the rousing opening number, “Eight Days a Week,” as well as the jaunty “Your Mother Should Know,” the sing-along “All Together Now” (“One of my more intellectual songs,” he joked), and “Lovely Rita” and “Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite, both from Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Heart’s Club Band. For Beatles fans, these were alone enough to justify a return visit.

Displaying barely any vocal diminishment and constantly accompanying himself on different instruments, McCartney clearly seems to draw energy from performing his lovingly faithful renditions of songs from his Beatles and Wings days as well as his solo career, including the recent lovely ballad ”My Valentine.” His longtime band, with whom he’s performed for over a decade, provided stirring instrumentals and vocal harmonies that brought the music to life in pristine but never stale fashion. They deserve to be named: Paul “Wix” Wickens (keyboards), Rusty Anderson (guitar), Abe Laboriel Jr. (drums) and Brian Ray (bass/guitar).

Nostalgia bloomed in the air, whether it was the vintage film footage of the Fab Four in their prime; McCartney’s accompanying himself on “Paperback Writer” with the same guitar he used on the original recording; or his loving tributes to those who’ve departed.

Indeed, at times the show took on the air of a memorial, with songs dedicated to his wife Linda (“Maybe I’m Amazed”); John Lennon (the imaginary conversational “Here Today”), George Harrison (“Something,” which began with McCartney strumming on a ukulele) and producer Phil Ramone (“Another Day”).

But it was mostly an inevitably joyous affair, with the performer trotting out one classic after another with the sort of well-practiced exuberance that made it seem as if he was performing them for the very first time. His seemingly unquenchable desire to please his audience was evident from the first to last moments.

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“You want to keep going, don’t you?” he unnecessarily asked the crowd well into the show’s third hour. He then listened to the responding cheers for several moments before taking a well-timed pause and deadpanning, “Okay.”

His second encore well demonstrated his musical breadth, as he effortlessly segued from the tender “Yesterday” to the raucous “Helter-Skelter” before launching into his usual show-closing triumvirate of “Golden Slumbers,” “Carry That Weight” and “The End.” It was, as always, a remarkable conclusion to a remarkable evening.

Set List

Eight Days a Week

Junior’s Farm

All My Loving

Listen to What the Man Said

Let Me Roll It

Paperback Writer

My Valentine

Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-five

The Long and Winding Road

Maybe I’m Amazed

I’ve Just Seen a Face

We Can Work It Out

Another Day

And I Love Her

Blackbird

Here Today

Your Mother Should Know

Lady Madonna

All Together Now

Lovely Rita

Mrs. Vanderbilt

Eleanor Rigby

Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite

Something

Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da

Band on the Run

Back in the U.S.S.R.

Let It Be

Live and Let Die

Hey Jude

Encore:

Day Tripper

Hi, Hi, Hi

Get Back

Encore 2:

Yesterday

Helter-Skelter

Golden Slumbers

Carry That Weight

The End

Twitter: @THRMusic

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