After just releasing one of the most beautifully pop-deviant
records of the year, singer/songwriter Rufus Wainwright is out
performing his new material across the United States. A talented
entourage of openers will be aboard for the tour, including the
always entertaining guitarist Teddy Thompson and Rufus’s
sister, Martha Wainwright. But with the family presence and
autobiographical themes that his new album, Want One, thrive
on, the audience should be looking forward to much more than just a
duplicate of this past holiday’s family reunion.
- Mira Levitan
- Did Carson pick out the that suit? (Courtesy of Dreamworks)
- Mira Levitan
- My God! I look so amazing over there. (Courtesy of Dreamworks)
Attesting to the fact that the lyrical imagery of the new album
is distinctly reminiscent of his real life, Wainwright made it
clear that his work and personal life were two completely separate
entities. He explained, “On one hand I can’t really say
that my work and my record is my life. Only because I have real
common needs like everybody else and, you know, it doesn’t
matter how many songs I sing or how much I sing about it, I still
have to do the work myself, you know, just to accomplish what
everybody else has to accomplish … (like) finding love and
happiness.” Appropriately, the tour will imbibe similar
emotional sentiments.
The hope for this tour is that it will inspire a sense of
positive reinforcement to the audience it reaches. Wainwright
commented, “The last major tour I did for my album was at a
time that was extremely up in the air. It was right after 9/11, and
so I think everybody was kind of numb from that experience. People
are searching for justice right now, and so I think that, if
anything, the show will be more upbeat, more uplifting, but also
more meaningful.”
With great new material and an archive of music that is of
equally superior quality, in addition to his comical laid-back
sense of humor, Wainwright is coolly confident: “I’ve
always put on a good show.” No doubt that this tour will be a
night-after-night experience of instant pleasure.