Photo: wenn.com
“Usually on this leg of the tour I say that I'm dressed as Rupert Bear,” jokes Rufus Wainwright, smiling down at his red waistcoat and yellow tartan plaid trousers. “But I'm a little bit Robin Hood... Or at least Robin Hood's gay cousin... Gary.”
“Here comes scary Gary Hood, out of the woods,” and so it goes, that the inimitable Rufus brings his own unique carnival of camp and cabaret to Nottingham.
Starting as a silhouette for a stripped back performance of 'Candles', Rufus then brings a world of theatre and colour to the stage for the bouncing flamboyance of 'Rashida'. Ever the showman, he scours his acclaimed back catalogue to dig out early gems like the cheeky 'April Fools' and enchanting 'Grey Gardens' right up to the latest album 'Out of the Game' with the title track tinged with glam-era Bowie.
He has an incredible command of the crowd. Few artists' could attract an audience with the devotion and patience to allow them to leave the stage so their backing band can perform songs by their mother. Rufus's guitarist Teddy Thompson delivers a truly captivating cover of 'Saratoga Summer' Song by Kate MacGarrigle – go to any and all lengths to hear it if you can.
“We've had some MacGarrigle and some Wainwright, I guess it would be fitting if we had some Cohen,” says Rufus in honour of the grandfather of his child, before inviting support act and son of Leonard, Adam Cohen to the stage. Rufus could have wheeled out old-favourite 'Hallelujah' or even his glorious cover of 'Chelsea Hotel No 2', but instead, he shares vocals with all on stage for a truly magnificent techni-colour rendition of the excellent 'Everybody Knows'. But the greatest response of the night is saved for the flawless career highlight of 'The Art Teacher'.
Now, for the encore. There are some pretty elaborate stage shows on the live circuit at the moment. Muse, for instance, have a giant moving LED-screen pyramid that projects images of the decline of the world's economy and energy supplies. But Rufus Wainwright, well, he has a hench bloke dressed as cupid and a giant foam sandwich.
Watch Rufus duet with a sandwich below
Dressed as Apollo in a Roman toga as audience members perform a Mexican wave behind him while Cupid throws talc and a demon waves a sandwich, you can sit back and enjoy the sight of the real Rufus.
Tonight was essentially a greatest hits set that showed all sides of Rufus Wainwright as an artist: at his most operatic, at his most pop-friendly, at his most tender, his most theatrical and ultimately, at his best. Everything is on show, and evidently, his life is a cabaret.
