I went to see Rufus Wainwright last night!

[GenderNectar]

The show was amazing!! The venue sucked ass though. General Admission bullshit.
Anyway -- Martha wasn't there. I was so disappointed.
Rufus was flawless. His voice was so strong and he looked wonderful! He seems so happy lately and it really reflects in his performances.
He was dressed in black pants, a yellow and black striped retro-style t-shirt and a very funny looking white, leather(?) jacket with Sgt. Pepper style lapels and tassels! Too funny. He also had a "sash" around his waist and he kept complaining about it because it was moving all over the place.
His stories were hilarious. For the into to 'Art Teacher', he spoke about an affair he had with an oil-rigger guy from Calgary who basically blew him off. (literally I assume) Then after that one, he had an affair with an Art Teacher. He met him at the gym. He said that "I saw him naked and he looked really good so I knew we had to be friends". LOL
'Oh What a World' was definitely the highlight of the night. The whole band (including Rufus) came out in black capes and witches hats a la the Wicked witch on the Wizard of Oz. His dance moves were adorable. He had a lit cigarette in one hand and swayed his hips back and forth. Fun stuff!
Anyhoo, here is the setlist (as I remember it and in no particular order)

some French song I didn't recognize
14th Street
Go, Go Ahead
Want
GREEK SONG!!!!!! (i was soooo happy to hear this!)Oh What a World
Poses
Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk
Vibrate
Halleluja (from Shrek!)
I Don't Know What It Is
Millbrook
Foolish Love
Natasha
Gay Mesiah
Beautiful Child
Art Teacher (from the new and upcoming album 'Want Two')
Complainte De La Butte (from Moulin Rouge)
Movies of Myself
Pretty Things
Harvester Of Hearts
Dinner at Eight
11:11
Mantinee Idol

 

[Ann Coates]

Oh, thank you for the lovely review! It's almost as though I went (no, not really, but I still appreciate it!).

I'm glad you had a great time, and that it was such a fantastic show (could one expect any less from Rufus?). I hear ya' about the venue, though. The Phoenix is the worst: crappy location, crappy setup, and general admission? Pfft!

How I wish I could've seen the Wizard of Oz - esque performance of "Oh What a World"! It sounds hilarious!

Are you going to see him tonight as well? He added a second performance, and none of this general admission bullshit - it's 19+. Unfortunately, I still can't attend.

Thanks again!

 

[Patrick McCann]

Hey canadians!! what do you mean by 'general admission'? I've seen it mentioned here a few times but it always seems to be a north american poster.
I'm not sure if we have that here at gigs. What is it?
Cheers.

 

[GenderNectar]

> Hey canadians!! what do you mean by 'general admission'? I've seen it
> mentioned here a few times but it always seems to be a north american
> poster.
> I'm not sure if we have that here at gigs. What is it?
> Cheers.

Hey Patty. It means no assigned seating. Standing only. That's great for some acts, but definitely not for a performance like Rufus, Tori Amos, etc. It should be more of a relaxed atmosphere -- not people weaving in and out of the crowd with a fist full of drinks. It was VERY annoying. We were lucky enough to get the ONLY table on the main floor. It was tucked away near the back beside a pole and there were 2 chairs. In order to see over the crowd I was knealing on the chair 90% of the time. It worked out well. I had a great view!

 

[GenderNectar]

> Oh, thank you for the lovely review! It's almost as though I went (no, not
> really, but I still appreciate it!).

> I'm glad you had a great time, and that it was such a fantastic show
> (could one expect any less from Rufus?). I hear ya' about the venue,
> though. The Phoenix is the worst: crappy location, crappy setup, and
> general admission? Pfft!

> How I wish I could've seen the Wizard of Oz - esque performance of
> "Oh What a World"! It sounds hilarious!

> Are you going to see him tonight as well? He added a second performance,
> and none of this general admission bullshit - it's 19+. Unfortunately, I
> still can't attend.

> Thanks again!

I'm really sorry you couldn't go. You would have LOVED it! My friend Johnny went and that was his first time seeing Rufus live and he was quite impressed and said he'd definitely see him again when he comes back to Toronto.

Unfortunately I won't be going tonight. I didn't know about the 2nd show until recently but I really don't think I could afford it anyway. I'd love to though.
Hopefully next time he comes around you can go and we can hook up before the show for some food or something.
I went to a place called 'Pulp Kitchen'. (best name EVER! LOL) It's a vegan restaurant on Queen St. E. It was so good! Have you been there before?
I had the PK sandwich: special toasted sandwich w/ seared tofu, oven roasted tomato, avocado & cilantro dijon "mayo". YUUUUUMMMMMMY!!!
Check out their website below. You can download their menu. I'm definitely going back there next time I'm in Toronto. (which happens to be May 15th for the Hawksley Workman show~!!!!!!)




Pulp Kitchen

 

[Ann Coates]

> I'm really sorry you couldn't go.

Me too! But I've seen him perform several times now, so I won't wallow (for too long, that is!).

> Hopefully next time he comes around you can go and we can hook up before
> the show for some food or something.

Sure, I'd love to!

> I went to a place called 'Pulp Kitchen'. (best name EVER! LOL) It's a
> vegan restaurant on Queen St. E. It was so good! Have you been there
> before?

Oh my goodness! I'm a vegan who's lived in Toronto for three years now, and I've never been to this restaurant! How can this be?! Thanks for the heads up, I'll have to check it out!

>I'm definitely going back there next time I'm in Toronto. (which happens to be
> May 15th for the Hawksley Workman show~!!!!!!)

Really?! I'm going to see him on the Friday (May 14!). That's so funny! We'll have to compare shows ("intimate" vs. "rock show", as they are described).

 

[Patrick McCann]

> Hey Patty. It means no assigned seating. Standing only. That's great for
> some acts, but definitely not for a performance like Rufus, Tori Amos,
> etc. It should be more of a relaxed atmosphere -- not people weaving in
> and out of the crowd with a fist full of drinks. It was VERY annoying. We
> were lucky enough to get the ONLY table on the main floor. It was tucked
> away near the back beside a pole and there were 2 chairs. In order to see
> over the crowd I was knealing on the chair 90% of the time. It worked out
> well. I had a great view!

There was a TABLE???? On the MAIN FLOOR????? Nice to see Canada's still as strange as ever.
I wish there had been one when I went to see Belle & Sebastian at The Kool Haus. I would have crawled under it and gone to sleep.
Cheers Terror.

 

[GenderNectar]

> Really?! I'm going to see him on the Friday (May 14!). That's so funny!
> We'll have to compare shows ("intimate" vs. "rock
> show", as they are described).

Oh cool!! A friend of mine picked up the tickets so I didn't really have much choice of which show to choose but he said by the time he found out about them, the acoustic show only had shitty seats left so he went with the others. Why do I get the feeling that it's going to be the same as the Rufus concert? (general admission). It's at the Palais Royale on Lakeshore Blvd. Have you ever been there?
I can't wait to see Hawksley. I've never seen him live before and I've heard nothing but glowing reviews from those who have.
We'll definitely have to compare notes after our shows. I'm glad I know someone who is going to the acoustic one.

 

[Ann Coates]

> Oh cool!! A friend of mine picked up the tickets so I didn't really have
> much choice of which show to choose but he said by the time he found out
> about them, the acoustic show only had shitty seats left so he went with
> the others. Why do I get the feeling that it's going to be the same as the
> Rufus concert? (general admission). It's at the Palais Royale on Lakeshore
> Blvd. Have you ever been there?
> I can't wait to see Hawksley. I've never seen him live before and I've
> heard nothing but glowing reviews from those who have.
> We'll definitely have to compare notes after our shows. I'm glad I know
> someone who is going to the acoustic one.

I've never been to the Palais Royale, but I've had the pleasure of seeing Hawksley 8 times now, and every show has been unique and wonderful! He is such a brilliant showman, strutting around the stage, always telling the funniest stories between songs about soup and otters and whatnot. You will have a great time! I can't wait!