Rufus Wainwright Setlist
José González Setlist
Rufus Wainwright / José González Tour Dates 09/23 – Minneapolis, MN – Northrop
09/24 – Chicago, IL – The Chicago Theatre 09/25 – Carmel, IN - The Palladium 09/26 – Detroit, MI –Cathedral Theatre 09/28 – Washington, DC – The Anthem 09/29 – Boston, MA – The Orpheum Theatre 09/30 – New York, NY – The Rooftop at Pier 17 10/01 – Glenside, PA – Keswick Theatre Rufus Wainwright Tour Dates 10/03 – Huntington, NY – The Paramount
10/06 – Southampton, England – O2 Guildhall 10/08 – Gateshead, England – The Sage 10/09 – Edinburgh, Scotland – Usher Hall 10/10 – Manchester, England – Bridgewater Hall 10/12 – Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England – City Hall 10/13 – York, England – Barbican 10/15 – Cambridge, England – Corn Exchange 10/16 – Liverpool, England – Olympia 10/18 – London, England – The London Palladium 10/19 – London, England –The London Palladium 10/20 – Brighton, England – Brighton Dome 10/22 – Southend-on-Sea, England – Leas Cliffs Pavilion 10/23 – Exeter, England – The Great Hall 10/25 – Birmingham, England – Symphony Hall 10/26 – Oxford, England –New Theatre Oxford 10/27 – Cardiff, Wales – St. David's Hall Read More
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Forget the season premiere of The Voice Monday night on television-
The place to be was in Kansas City at the Uptown Theater to hear the real thing- one voice that soared like a bird, and another floated like a cloud.
2x GRAMMY® Award-nominated singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright and visionary singer-songwriter-guitarist José González combined forces to launch the first stop of their Unfollow The Rules in The Local Valley Tour before a loyal and eager audience.
Wainwright is out in support of not only last year’s successful Unfollow the Rules (on BMG Records) but also a live companion piece just out, Unfollow the Rules- The Paramour Sessions recorded during the pandemic at a stately LA mansion, while González released his anticipated fourth solo album, Local Valley (on Mute Records) just last week.
With a city mask mandate still in place, and required vaccination proof per the venue, entry on a slightly rainy evening was very brisk and easy. Once inside, the crowd was generally very respectable and quiet to the two performers that really require this during their performances, in order to fully appreciate each of them.
José González began the evening first, alone atop a center stage pedestal with a simple backdrop that resembled the reflection of a wilderness pond behind him. His dedicated fans were so happy to see him, yelps and whoops came from the crowd just from tuning of his guitar.
González began his hour-long set with 2015’s “With the Ink of a Ghost”, his lilting delicate vocals dancing amongst the clouds like a firefly in the woods, nicely setting the mood for what was to come. Following with “Lovestain” from his 2003 debut, it was clear that the setlist was selected very deliberately, not only to showcase the new record, but to also take listeners both new and old, through an almost twenty-year journey of his work.
“El Invento” was the first of the new songs, sung completely in Spanish, showing his range as a lyricist, and that was soon followed by a set centerpiece of four additional new songs. “Line of Fire” is not only on the new record, but also a cover of his own, from his on-again/off-again band Junip, formed in 1998 with friend Tobias Winterkorn, and The Beatles’ “Blackbird” was one of the very first songs he learned to play, and proved a sweet and authentic cover.
The encore-less set would end with another cover, “Heartbeats”, a 2002 hit for Swedish electronica duo The Knife, which made perfect sense as González is not only a longtime resident of Gothenburg where that band originated, but its lyric, “One night of magic rush, the start, a simple touch” seeming very apropos, to describe the set.
After a brief set change, the mood switched from the opening notes of Rufus Wainwright’s ninety-minute set to more of an intimate cabaret, with Wainwright joined by only three additional and very adept musicians– guitarist/musical director Brian Green, Jacob Mann on keyboards/piano, and Alan Hampton on bass guitar/upright bass, all dressed in dapper patchwork-pattered suits.
Wainwright enhanced his own outfit, with sequined ruby slipper loafers (very appropriate for Oz-famous Kansas) and the back of his jacket emblazoned with a large crown and letter “R” above it.
Though a running theme of songs of dread punctuated the set, most were done uptempo and/or heartily enough with Wainwright’s room-filling stage vocals, to set aside any feelings of anxiety to just enjoy the act of going to see live music again, starting with four songs from the latest record. The album’s title track, was conceived with help from his now ten year-old daughter, Viva (also Leonard Cohen’s granddaughter) and Wainwright admitted particular nervousness in performing the swaying “You Ain’t Big”, which name-checks local nearby towns of Topeka, Wichita, and Lawrence, KS.
“Secret Sister” was culled from a recent soundtrack of a film about activist nuns and the new “Romantical Man” was inspired by walks in London and seeing a statue of 18th Century Welsh actress Sarah Siddons. Wainwright joked that he usually dedicates the new “Only the People That Love” to everyone in the world… except for one person, but with the current un-vaccinated situation, maybe broadens that out to just some 75%.
“Poses” from 2001, remains Wainwright’s favorite song to sing, and he again proved why, performing it solo on piano, his voice reaching to rafters as he crooned, “you said watch my head about it”. A couple of Canadian-centric covers would follow, re-interpreted of course with Wainwright’s climbing vocals reaching into territory each of the originals, could never venture, and both are featured on Northern Stars, a limited release he sells only at shows.
“My Little You” was again inspired by his daughter, and the chaotic cacophony of “Early Morning Madness” both captured the seesaw emotion of its title and was a show highlight that musically personified the bleakness of addiction. Wainwright confessed the set was ending in an “uptempo darkness” with “Devils & Angels (Hatred)”, inspired in part by an 18th century opera he has seen with his late mother twenty years ago.
The two-song encore began with the closing track from Unfollow the Rules, and Wainwright solo on piano for “Alone Time”, somber but hopeful in promising to be back in the lyrics. The band rejoined onstage for the night’s closer, 2007’s “Going to a Town”, a world-weary protest song that took on additional and completely new meanings in these current times.
With very little noticeable rust to shake off on this opening night of the tour, Rufus Wainwright and José González shined not only in their songwriting and performance, but the night was also a masterclass in the voice, far more accomplished and authentic than anything that might have been on TV the same night.
(click on any image to see it in full and enlarged)
Jose Gonzalez |
Jose Gonzalez |
Jose Gonzalez |
Rufus Wainwright |
Rufus Wainwright |
Rufus Wainwright |
Rufus Wainwright at at Uptown Theater, Kansas City, MO (2021-09-20) |
| john (johnc@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com |
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