All Days are Night: A Concert Review

     On Saturday, August 7, 2010, I had the pleasure of attending a concert held by Rufus Wainwright at the Strathmore Music Center in Bethesda, MD. Many of my friends know that I am a long time fan of Rufus Wainwright. I discovered him on the soundtrack to the film Shrek. One of the sadder moments of the film features Leonard Cohen singing his amazing song, "Hallelujah." The soundtrack of Shrek features Rufus Wainwright's cover of that song. Shrek came out in 2001, which would have placed it right in the middle of my grand love affair with the piano, and there was "Hallelujah," a gorgeous and artistic piano ballad. I fell in love, used the music-finding software of the time to find Rufus's second album, Poses, and the rest is history. I am going on a ten-year relationship with Rufus Wainwright.

     A very good friend of mine attended the concert with me. Parking at Strathmore was a dream, which eased my nerves. Parking in DC has the potential to be a wreck waiting to happen, but Strathmore uses the Metro parking lot, so everything went smoothly. I must mention this--the auditorium of the music center is very pretty. Everything is made out of a light wood stain, the seats are comfortable--any concert is a pleasure to see in that auditorium.

     A big disappointment was the starting time. The tickets said that the show started at 8pm, so I assumed that is when I should aim for arriving. However, although we arrived about ten minutes prior to 8pm, we found the opening act already in progress. Rufus Wainwright's sister, Martha Wainwright, was the opening act. She is a shining example of what is wrong with music today. The woman is so freaking talented. She has a lovely voice and creativity to spare, and she's not famous. She should be, and it is a sin that she isn't. I especially appreciate what she brings to the background vocals of Rufus's studio albums. She is his go-to female accompaniment, and I can't accuse it of being sheer nepotism. When Rufus performs some songs alone, I often wish Martha's voice was there too. She adds so much to a song with so little effort. Anywho, Martha had started way before 8pm, so we only caught the tail end of her act. I wish I would have known that she was starting earlier, because I would have loved to see more of her.

     Rufus's part of the show began with his latest album, All Days are Nights: Songs for Lulu (above), being played straight through as a piece of performance art. To accompany the lone musician and his piano, the stage was dark with the exception of a projection screen behind him. Artistic depictions similar to the cover art of the latest album played on the screen while he played, and he requested no applause between songs. It was a requiem for his mother, the exceptionally talented Kate McGarrigle, who was ill during the making of this album, and who passed away shortly after the album's release. The performance was dark, sad, beautiful, and touching.

     After a brief intermission, he returned to a more positively lit stage to perform songs from his other albums. During this portion of the show, I really felt like he was playing just for me, because he chose a few of my very favorites, including "Beauty Mark," "La Complainte de la Butte" (which he recorded for the soundtrack of Moulin Rouge!), "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk," "The Art Teacher," "Poses," and of course, his ever famous cover of "Hallelujah." It was nice to see him, bright and smiling in an orange and coral colored suit on a stage of candles, playing these songs that made me so happy over the last decade. It made remember a person I used to be, who was very different than who I am now. It made me remember feeling like I had art inside of me to share, and it made me remember being desperate for love. It was quite a nostalgic experience. Rufus's performance is so precise and superb lately, too, that, paying attention to technicality, you can hardly tell differences from his recordings to his live performances.

     Rufus ended the show by covering a song of his mother's called "The Walking Song." It was a pretty and simple folk love song, and he performed it with such sensitivity--I'm sure everyone was moved. I left that night feeling sad and sweet, for my past and for Rufus and Martha. Unbeknown-st to them, we've been through a lot together.

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