the yellow walls are lined with portraits.

i have finally got round to it. yes. i'm going to write about my night of rufus wainwright love at the sydney opera house, on the 14th october. i alluded that i was heading down to sydney to see him, in an earlier post about andrew bird. though, it has now been a month since that evening.

upon entering the concert hall, we were greeted by a lone grand piano + a white backdrop. wainwright is known for his lush orchestrations + arrangements. however, this tour, which coincides with the release of his sixth album all days are nights: songs for lulu, has been stripped back to a piano + his voice.

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to debut the new material [which is far more conceptual than earlier work], the audience was asked to remain quiet, and refrain from applause + taking photographs in the first half. the hall fell into darkness. a single door was opened in the wings, and within the whiteness of the light, an elongated shadow poured across the stage. slowly, with long, deliberate strides, wainwright moved towards the piano, wearing a black gown with a cathedral train and plunging neck line, and a voluptuous feathered collar. and so began the 'song cycle', a story line, an ode to his late mother, kate macgarrigle, who's death in january 2010 had a very deep impact on the singer/songwriter. he sat at the grand piano + pounded out about an hour’s worth of aching vocals, which were steeped in grief. the complex, ambitious and vulnerable lyrics made it difficult to completely engage at times. additionally, images of wainwright's blinking eye, with heavy black + gold makeup, were, at times, disconcerting.

but one of wainwright's most wonderful abilities is to make listeners feel good. and while he may have refrained from doing this in the first half, the second half was loaded with old favourites, including 'poses' [my favourite] + 'california'. dressed in tight orange pants, white shoes, a black top and hot pink scarf, he behaved as the flamboyant artist we know + love. the stage was littered with candles + this time the backdrop changed colours throughout the set. he engaged in a number of rambling addresses, which included tales of leonard cohen and a cross-promotion for the upcoming tours of his various family members - martha wainwright will be in australia in feb/mar touring sans fusils, ni souliers, à paris: martha wainwright's piaf record, and loudon wainwright III is touring with daughter lucy, and should come to australia soon. this was concluded with a cheeky remark asking us all to help the wainwright empire take over the world.


i was most excited to hear his covers of 'hallelujah' + 'la complainte de la butte'. the highlight, i think, was when he stopped mid-song during 'cigarettes + chocolate milk', noting that it had just dawned on him that he was playing at the opera house, that he was completely overwhelmed, and would we mind if he took a moment to let it sink in. then continued through the song.

during his encore, wainwright talked about the impact of his mother's death before playing 'the walking song', a simple + sweet song she’d written in the 1970s about what friends might talk about while taking a stroll. at the conclusion of this, wainwright blew kisses to the crowd, and received a standing ovation. the sound in the concert hall was fabulous, and we were most definitely treated to something a little bit special.

oh. and i may have accidentally recorded 'hallelujah' [please excuse the movement. i was resting my elbows on my chest. which was still breathing.]