Rufus Wainwright
Rufus Wainwright
Usher Hall, Edinburgh
Keith Bruce
I SHOULD not labour the point (although I will), but the last time Rufus Wainwright played such a straightforward show in Edinburgh, it was his solo debut at La Belle Angele and many fewer folk saw him sat behind a piano - which was not a spotlit Steinway.
I'd be prepared to bet, however, that I was not alone in the capital's centenary-celebrating hall in following him on that colourful journey, because Wainwright inspires that sort of devotion, as the ecstatic ovation at the end - rewarded with a fistful of encores - confirmed.
Scrupulously honest as ever, Wainwright told us all that the object of the gig, promoting his "best of" collection, Vibrate, was to make money, hence the absence of a band and lavish costumes.
That admission won a cheer, as even a stripped-back Rufus holds some mystery.
Chief among these is why (cash rewards aside) he is so nakedly ambitious for pop success - consorting with Guy Chambers and Robbie Williams - when his gift is composing what are fundamentally what the classical world calls "art songs", rather than pop songs. His finest songs are the more intricate work, with even the catchiest (Out of the Game, Going to a Town, and the now-venerable Poses, which he told us he still thinks is his best) utterly structurally distinctive.
What Wainwright proves is that it is possible to do that and still be a lot of camp fun. For that, his half-sister Lucy Wainwright-Roche was a perfect foil, her own charming solo set followed by an appearance as Liza Minelli (costuming minimal) for Me and Liza, before duetting on Cohen's Hallelujah - a song Wainwright should be one of the few folk allowed to sing.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article