Rufus Wainwright visited Copenhagen in late April. It was the first show on his tour promoting “Out of the Game”. Before going in, I had a chat with a guy who’d recently read my dissertation on Wainwright, which centers on performance and masculinity. He asked me if I thought the artist would be different now, if he’d perhaps “grown up”. It’s a really good question, so I figured I’d try to answer that here and draw a few threads on the changing masculinity of Rufus Wainwright.
One thing I noticed while writing the thesis was that Wainwright has certain consistencies in his performances, and there have been some developments in style and strategy. So where is Rufus Wainwright anno 2012, new father, soon-to-be husband, in relation to earlier in his career?
Visually, Wainwright was a lot more subdued than I’ve seen him in years. In fact, I have not personally seen performances (incl. recorded ones) that were this visually simple since the late 90s. The stage was simple, no backdrop, everyone in regular, dark clothes, and Wainwright himself in a dark suit. Even his customary rings and necklaces were gone, or, in the case of the rings, reduced.
Still, there was something there to assure us all that this is still Rufus. The man who does everything just a little camp – if not a lot. Yeah, there was a pretty regular suit and all, but the were shoes. Wonderful, silver ones that looked like basketball boots or something, and were so shiny they actually blinded with reflected light once in a while. They were fabulous and amazing. Also a really good look with a dark suit. There was that clear visual touch of the campy and fun that is one of the trademarks of Rufus Wainwright the performer.
Performance-wise, we got pretty much the Rufus we’re used to, but with a few twists. First of all, body language was much as usual, with the added fun of seeing him try (his words) to dance a little to his new, dance-friendly tunes. As often, this became a new way of making jokes at his own expense. Which leads directly into the on-stage banter and telling of little anecdotes, another trademark of a Wainwright performance. There was all the little moments of Wainwright laughing (mostly at himself), over-sharing, camping it up, swaying at the piano while he played.
There were fewer of these moments of chat than I’ve seen earlier, but at the same time it felt like a creative decision because several songs were allowed to flow into each other. Just like there was no intermission, but instead a few songs performed by other band members. It gave a different feel to the concert. Liking it or not is a matter of taste. For me it was a new and good experience. Playing around with the format of the live concert is definitely something that could be done more.
This leads very directly to the next bit of change, and here we might be getting closer to looking at the question I mentioned in the opening paragraph. Last Wainwright toured with an album, it was the sombre “All Days are Night: Songs for Lulu”, which was something as unusual as a performance of camp grief. I’ve . The concert’s first half – and the album – takes on a sense of elegy for Kate McGarrigle. This wasn’t at all the case at this new show, but it’s still very obvious that the loss of her is ever-present.
There was a thematic and visual link to “Lulu” in the opening number, an a capella rendition of “Candles”, a song from “Out of the Game”. A song that carries some of the grief, but in a different way, as it recalls trying to light a candle for the dead and not being able to. It’s beautiful and bitter-sweet, and the a capella version was so fitting I’m sorry that isn’t on the album. The song was performed with a darkened stage, nothing except candles was visible, and was followed directly by the next song with no break. The visual link to the previous tour, where the entire first half was the Lulu-album performed as a song cycle is obvious. So is the part where there was no break between the first two songs – nor between a few others later. However, the differences were as poignant. Like how the light came on after “Candles” and the next song was an up-beat happy affair. There was a time for brief memorial in this concert, but not for delving into the depth of grief.
The not-quite-intermission was dedicated to Kate McGarrigle as well, yet also in a way that was a departure from the deep black of “Lulu”. Instead it was comprised of band-members Krystle Warren (who also did a fantastic opening act!) and Teddy Thompson each doing one of Kate’s songs. They both have absolutely amazing voices, and by doing this, it became an integral part of the show as a whole. (I have to stop here to say that Teddy Thompson’s cover was absolutely stunning.) Again a link to previous shows, but with a whole different take.
Present in other ways was also Wainwright’s father, Loudon, both by way of one of his songs being played and in the way I hear inspiration from him on “Out of the Game”. It’s not often that his side of folk comes through in the son’s compositions, but it’s here. Adding to that songs to the baby daughter (“Montauk”) and the fiancĂ©e (“Song of You”), it’s clear that Wainwright has drawn different parts of his family into his musical universe.
Has he “grown up” then? Is this a new man? Yes and no.
Yes, because life and death changes a human being. A person who’s lost his mother and got a daughter within just over a year is bound to be changed by that, and in the case of Wainwright, that means bound to sing about it, talk about it, share with the audience.
No, because the performance strategy is still consistent. We easily recognise Wainwright, visually, musically and performativily. The same elements are there, mixed and weighed differently, but present with a bit more added to the mix. It is an evolving strategy that seems to have done so organically.
In my thesis I noted a tendency for Wainwright to be very aware of his audience and situation and target a performance to it. I saw nothing to indicate this isn’t still the case. Copenhagen is, arguably, somewhat backwater (off-off Broadway, as Erik Steinskog put it when we discussed it), it’s also “safe” for Wainwright. He’s always been well received here, has sold well, and there’s the inevitable back-up of extended family. (This time taking up half a row right in front of where I was sitting.) So here is probably a good place to have a test-run. That said, it didn’t feel much like it was, at least not in terms of giving a performance, putting on a full show and make us all feel we got what we came for.