It has been a music-filled summer, which is what I intended for it to be. My friends and I have seen a number of local acts, national acts, you name it. Up until the other night, the best of them all was the so-called Blood on the Tracks Band, who played 2 hours of brilliant Dylan covers on Saturday night, July 25, in St. Louis Park, MN. Billy Hallberg, Lonny Knight, Kevin Odegard and a cast of, well, many, many more, put on a terrific show. Better than Los Lobos, better than Steve Earle and band, better certainly than the Shins....
But not better than Rufus Wainwright. Rufus. who played at the Minnesota Zoo on Saturday, August 11, is just an absolute gem, both a great musician and a great entertainer. His is one of the wittiest stage personas I've ever seen. He seems to genuinely enjoy being up on stage in ways that escape most musical artists, and his joy and his fun is contagious and lifts the whole audience.
Take my wife (please!). No, seriously, take my wife. She is not a big fan of his music--not a big fan of his singing voice, specifically. "He sings through his nose," she always says. But seeing him live softened her right up. She was singing his praises by concert's end.
And for those of us who are fans of his music--and even of his singing!--well, the songs, the music, the singing, the repartee, it all adds up to a terrific package and the summer's--the year's--best musical experience.
Where to begin? I mean, I'm not even that impressed by his newest LP, Out of the Game. "But, of course, I'm not" out of the game, he said. And, of course, he is not. He is very much in the game, though not at the very top of his game on Out of the Game. Compared to his masterpieces, Want One and Want Two, there's more of a sameness to many of the tunes. But in a live setting, they exhibit more personality than on record. Still, "Rashida," "Barbara," "Jericho" and "Montauk" from the new album were among the least memorable songs in the show.
On the other handle, "Candles," which opened the show in a cappella style and in stage darkness, was terrific. The title track was nice, and "Bitter Tears," with its paradoxically jaunty melody, ended the show on a huge up-beat.
Still, the highlights included "The One You Love" and "Art Teacher" from Want Two. Also, "The Man That Got Away" by Judy Garland, which Rufus dedicated in catty fashion to Liza Minelli who, when asked if she had listened to Rufus' recording of her mom's songs, said, "Why would I do that?"
Then a tribute to Rufus' dad, Loudon the III, by way of one of Loudon's songs, "One Man Guy." And just in case you missed it, "One Man Guy"is a hilarious paean to utter self-absorption. Loudon is a "one man guy" totally in thrall to himself, at least that's what the song says. When Rufus sings it, it is of course a love song to his dad. Nice.
And, finally, by way of highlights, was a version of Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel No. 2," his love song to Janis Joplin, sung in a duet with Leonard's son Adam Cohen, who was one of 2 opening acts (Krystle Warren was the other). Honestly, I would have preferred to hear Rufus sing it alone. Adam's voice is unlike his father's but it too is only semi-melodic and totally idiosyncratic. Nice by itself, a little tortured in a duet or if otherwise required to capture a melody.
But Cohen capitalized on his unique voice and style in his own act, with understated accompaniment (mostly cello and keyboard with a little bit of drum machine) and some great three-part harmony singing by the two accompanists who are not identified anywhere on Adam's Web site. All in all, Adam brings a unique style that's pleasant enough in small doses.
Likewise Krystle Warren with her jazzy, scat-filled singing. She returned as a back-up singer for Rufus as well,
It was a great night with three distinctive musical stylists, headed up by the Artist of the Year (as of today) in Rufus Wainwright.
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