*****
Rufus Wainwright’s latest album is a complex reworking of nine Shakespearean sonnets mixing classical, pop and a bit of rock, with a plethora of star guests.
So we all wondered, how would Rufus work that in a live arena?
Simple answer, he didn’t, with the exception of A Woman’s Face, instead choosing to focus on a stripped-back run through his stellar back catalogue and musical influences.
Did we mind? Not a jot. Not when Rufus is oozing easy charm and wit, reeling off unexpected jokes about Brexit, and nailing fans’ favourites such as Going To A Town and Out Of The Game.
For the 99.5 per cent of the audience not lucky enough to be going to see Rufus reprise his Judy Garland concert in New York and Toronto this month, we get a pretty good dress rehearsal with more than half of dozen of the icon’s songs.
Carnegie Hall will demand a tighter rendition of That’s Entertainment but Rufus is soon channelling his full Judy with a spine-tingling version of Do It Again.
On a stunning take of Want, Rufus sings he doesn’t want to be John Lennon or Leonard Cohen (though he does more than justice to Hallelujah later in the set) - he just wants to be his dad with a sprinkling of his mother.
Well he’s not. He’s unashamedly, extravagantly, brilliantly and uniquely Rufus and Brighton loved him for it.
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