ate last month. Rufus Wainwright was in l.os Angeles. treading the hallowed boards of the Hollywood Bowl. whooping it tip as only Rufus can whoop it tip. He had brought his acclaimed .ltnfy (ht/'huti/ Itir' .-lt (itrttvutr' Ill/H show to town. .lust him. an orchestra. conductor. (iarland's daughter. Rufus' sister. Rtrftts' mtrtn and Rufus" giant. hilar'ious. ballooning ego. It was the last time he‘d eyer do the show. So. being
Rufus. he had a little fun: for the encore. a rendition of
‘(‘|iicago'. the final song in (iarland‘s original l‘)(il show. he reprised his jaw dropping turn at this year's (ilastonbury he came on dressed in fitted black jacket. tights. heels and a fedora. Just like .Iudy.
"l'he .ludy show is enjoyable bttt somewhat horrific as well.‘ Wainwright says. ‘I did the show in Paris and actually lost my mice. and that was a lesson in show bi/ suryiyal. |But| I am adamant not to let that demon oyertake my life. and for me all of a sudden to be propelled into a \audey illian stage ofesistence.‘
Well. almost adamant. The l..»\ engagement marked the end of the .ltrdy show. If) months after he first performed it in ('ar'negie Ilall itself. He also made a (‘|) and DVD of the whole lit-octane. high-camp triumph. Yet. in between all that. lllis spring. he managed to release his fifth album. Rr'h'ityr' the Stars: a gorgeous. melodramatic. swoonsome slice of baroque"n‘roll. Another one. Rufus Wainwright's last two albums were hardly restrained affairs either Himt ()II(’ and Wit/ti 'Iii'o formed a ray ishing psy cho-sexual dipty'ch.
Rufus Wainwright doesn‘t do anything by littIVcs. When he undertakes tributes to his icons. he does so to the point of energy-sapping madness. When he took drugs back in his high New York 90s he did so until he went lbrieflyl blind. Ile indulged in terrifying bottts of wanton. unprotected gay ses. Ask him. professionally- speaking 'What nest". and he‘ll blilthely reply. ‘()h. to write an opera'. one commissioned by New York’s august Metropolitan Opera no less.
And when Wainwright embarks on a riew studio albutn. he can‘t help but go cra/ily. indulgently oyer the top. Luckily. this singer/songwriter/composer/arranger who doesn‘t do
anything by haly'es also has twice the talent of most of
Ills peers.
‘lt‘s funny I was originally gonna make this record as a darker. more intimate. bare-bones affair.~ he cackles in his signature throaty warble before embarking on a quote in which Wainwright. bless his couture cotton-socks. refers to himself in the third person. (I)C\‘ilisltl_\‘ charming Rufus Wainwright is the only person in the whole entertainment cosmos who gets away with this.)
‘I wanted to strip back and iny'estigate the inner recesses of Rufus.‘ he says of the writing process leading tip to the making of Release the Stars. ‘But what ended tip happening I think due to this intersection occurring. of my prime age. my being allowed to write this opera for the .Met. being in Very good health. haying all my family around me doing as well. and also haying other artists equally experiencing some sort of recognition -— it feels like. no. this is the time when you haye to lay it out all on the line. and itlsl make it as fabulous as possible. .-\nd that is sort of what happened —- without trying — with this album.
"This record was definitely officially The New Me. I'm approaching songwriting and stardom and show business and my 30s with a kind of prime coating. Meaning. this is as strong and magnificent and young as I'm ey'er gonna be all at one time?‘
Listen to -- immerse yourself in — Release the Stars and you‘d be hard pushed to disagree. It‘s a staggering achievement. stuffed with the richest of melodies and the
richest of lyrics. recorded in Berlin with the cream of
‘THIS IS AS STRONG AND MAGNIFICENT AND YOUNG AS I'M EVER GONNA BE ALL AT ONE TIME!’
(iermany's young classical players. and e\ecuti\e produced by Pet Shop Boy and longstanding Rufus champion. Neil ’l‘ennant.
This .-\merica-born. (‘anada-raised artist w ho has found greatest layout in the [is opted to record in Berlin because ‘in order to really feel rela\ed making music. I needed lit lk‘ somewhere lllttl Iiiltl e\pericnccd defeat.‘ He‘s only half—joking. 'l was qtrite bereft at the whole idea of being true to your artistic muse in an atmosphere where it's all about success. and indestructibilityf he continues. by way of esplaining why New York. where he liy es albeit a lot more soberly than he Used to was out. ‘I just need to feel a little bit of decay or something. If it wasn't me that was gonna be fucked up I guess it had to be the city . . . sol went to Berlin.‘
Wainwright is. by his own admission. a serious control freak. So why let 'I‘ennant take a piyotal role in the making of lt’t'h'ttw Iht' .S'turs‘.’ Typically. Wainwright offers an answer that is both lofty and gimlet-ey ed say \y.
'I would argue that Neil is probably the foremost professor of both hiin and low culture. He has a real firm grip on both ideas. And that is something that is really essential in my rnusical world. Because I know yery little about low culture. :\nd when I say low culture. I'm not being derogatory 7 popular culture‘s a better way to put it. So. I'm kind of in the dark. but [knowing about it| is necessary for me to work with the hoity toity shit that I do know about. And Neil's a good way to bring the out of the heay'ens a little bit.‘
Ask hitn to give an example of 'I'ennant‘s influence on the album. and Wainwright highlights "I'iergarten'. his new single.
‘()riginally "'l‘iergarten" was a slow. slow. slow. slow ballad. It was gonna be with harps only and no drums. this languid thing. Neil immediately told me that he was bored. And I said. well. I don‘t want Neil to be bored. Vicious When Bored: Neil 'l'ennant. We pushed it up and tried another approach.‘
Wainwright is not one to giye up. He bounced back from rehab. a chaotic low life and disappointing album sales this first two records stifled) to become one of the most f‘eted. most imaginative artists around. Ilis opera for the Met will take him. literally. years to write. (’My hero right now is |(‘/.ech composer] .lanacek. because he wrote his first great opera in his Slls. So I‘m starting to pace myselff he says.) .-\t (ilastonl‘iury. his high-kicking finale of ‘(‘liicago' was ruined by appalling sound problems (it was cleaned tip for 'I’\' \‘icwct'sl. Then the sound broke down completely. l'nabashed. Wainwright started all oyer again. The sound was still terrible. The crow d's boos turned to cheers. What a trouper. Ilis imminent I'K tour may not be ‘the .ltrdy show" but you can bet it'll be a triumph of theatricality'. Wainwright will be thoroughly spent at the end of each one. Then he‘ll do the same thing all me!" again the next night.
'I think I just haye a lot of respect for who and what's happened before.‘ he says. eyes shining. Then. as his wont. bursts into delighted laughter. 'I don't know. I guess I‘ve made the sacrifices to the right temples]
Clyde Auditorium, Glasgow, Sun 14 & Sat 15 Oct.
WIN RUFUS TICKETS AND CDS
The fine folks at Regular Music have give us five pairs of tickets for Rufus' Glasgow show on ‘ Monday 15 October and five copies of his album Release the Stars. Send your name. number and address to promotions©list.co.uk or on a postcard to ‘Rufus Competition‘, The List, 14 High Street, Edinburgh, EH1 1TE. The closing date is Friday 12 October. Usual List rules apply.
There are literally tons of gigs over the next couple of months but here is just a smattering of the finest examples of live rockingness to savour
OCTOB E R
I The Coral \iVirralbased indie sixsome make a return to the ll‘.’(? scene. ABC, G/asgow. 20 Oct
I Editors Gloomy four-piece tour in support of successful second effort. An End Has A Start. Carling Academy. Glasgow, 27 Oct.
I The Pigeon Detectives Scruffy Leeds outfit who cater in scratchy. catchy indie pop. Arches. Glasgow. 27 Oct.
I LCD Soundsystem Thrilling dance-punk for hipste s (:Ourtesy of DFA’s James Murphy. Barrow/and. G/asgow, 22 Oct.
I Boredoms Utterly unique avant- garde rock from Osaka. Arches. Glasgow. 23 Oct.
I Flowered Up Recently reformed baggy outfit come north of the border for the first time in years. King Tut '3, Glasgow, 24 Oct.
I The Wedding Present
David Gedge's influential act return wrth the promise of new material. L/gwd Room, Edinburgh. 24 Oct; OMU. G/asgow. 25 Oct.
I Cold War Kids Californian foursome who do a mean trade in intense arty rock. Barrow/and, Glasgow. 25 Oct.
I Arcade Fire Triumphant Montreal septet play their biggest shows to date in suppon of Neon Bible. SECC. Glasgow, 26 Oct.
I Enter Shikari Trance-metal act famous for incendiary live shows. Barrow/and. Glasgow, 26 8 27 Oct. I Ash Rejuvenated indie rock trio who boast an impressive back catalogue crammed to bursting with catchy anthems. Barrow/and, Glasgow, 28 Oct.
. 9;: ’/.' THE LIST 11