Rufus Wainwright at the London Palladium

The burnished gold swags of ornamentation at the Palladium suit Rufus Wainwright perfectly. The multi-hyphenate (now artist can be added to that) swanned on stage last night in a customised blazer (with a crown and an R on the back, naturally) and bedazzled red shoes. His streamlined band consisted of Brian Green on electric and acoustic guitar, Jacob Mann on piano and keyboard and Alan Hampton on double bass and ukulele. 

Wainwright, 48 but ageing with as much debonair polish as one might expect, has a sizeable back catalogue to choose from, but the material at the Palladium mostly came from his most recent album, Unfollow the Rules. The set incorporated the catchy hillbilly guitars and finger-plucked bass of You Ain’t Big, the unhinged bombast of Early Morning Madness and Hatred, and the swirling romance of Only the People That Love (the latter accompanied by his interpretation of the Lovers tarot card on the screen behind). A particular highlight was Secret Sister, drenched in dramatic strumming, written for a documentary about some badass nuns in LA in the 1960s and 70s, the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart, who engaged in various radical, forward-thinking initiatives before the Vatican eventually excommunicated them. Lifelong fans may have been disappointed that the show was light on his earlier work.

However, the two-part set was lavish with ideas. Wainwright has recently branched into drawing, and the images were projected onto a giant screen on the stage, the camera ranging over the detail before pulling out to the whole composition at the end. They are good, putting in mind the pen-and-ink drawings of Edward Gorey, with an emphasis on sumptuous lips. 

The music is only one part of the show, as Wainwright is a beguiling raconteur, taking the rapt audience from hilarity to reflection with a repartee that feels as though he is talking to you alone – a rare gift. He is warm and confessional and his deadpan delivery is hilarious, beat-perfect: “There are t-shirts for sale in the lobby” he mentions, “Yes, it’s come to that” he sighs drily. There are engaging anecdotes around the inception of songs, plucked from a sophisticated life.

There were also covers of Leonard Cohen, Sandy Denny, amongst others, and a lovely version of Neil Young’s Harvest. The first half finishes with a duet with Scottish soprano Janis Kelly – an 19^th century Irish folk song, The Last Rose of Summer, that was sung at the funeral of Wainwright’s mother Kate McGarrigle. It was a rapturously poignant moment. 

This was a mesmerising set, impeccably eclectic in its choices and performed immaculately.

Jessica Wall
Photos: Guifré de Peray 

For further information and future events visit Rufus Wainwright’s website here.

Watch the video for the single Secret Sister here: