One Mann Guy

[vovat]

Yes, last night was indeed the Rufus Wainwright concert at the Mann Music Center in Philadelphia. I drove there with bethje and her Uncle John, arriving in plenty of time for the show. The tickets said that the show started at 8, but the...pre-opener, A Fine Frenzy, actually started playing around 7:45, making this one of very few concerts that started not only on time, but early. Contrary to their name, the band was not at all frenetic, but instead did a set consisting entirely of slow piano-based ballads. Not bad, but not at all memorable, either. There was an intermission before Neko Case took the stage, during which a brief thunderstorm came up. Neko commented on this, and at one point said that said was going to market a cologne called Sophomore, that smelled of rain and hamburgers. She started her set with "Things That Scare Me," and went on to do "That Teenage Feeling," "Tightly," "Hold On, Hold On," "Star Witness," "If You Knew," "Dirty Knife," "The Tigers Have Spoken," "Maybe Sparrow," and "John Saw That Number" (but not in that order, although "John" was her closer). Nothing from prior to Blacklisted, but hey, it WAS an opening set. Incidentally, this was the farthest back I'd ever been at a show where Neko was playing.

It turned out that it was a good idea for me to have listened to Release the Stars, since Rufus' set was very heavily focused on it. If he didn't play every song on there, he came awfully close. As far as songs not on that album, I know he also did "The Art Teacher," "Beautiful Child," "Pretty Things," "I Don't Know What It Is," "14th Street," and "Hallelujah," with that last one as a duet with his sister Lucy (because everyone in his family is required to be a singer). He had two costume changes in his set, the first to shorts and suspenders, and the second to a white bathrobe. Near the end of the show, he took off the robe to reveal a Judy Garland ensemble, which he wore for a fully choreographed version of "Get Happy."

Including intermissions, the show ended up clocking in at upwards of four hours, which was good for getting our money's worth, but a little hard to take when you've slept maybe two hours out of the last twenty-four. By the end, I was having trouble staying awake. I noticed that a fair number of people left early, some even skipping out immediately after Neko's set. I'm a bigger fan of Neko than Rufus myself, but I don't think I'd ever go to a show just to see the opener unless it was someone I didn't think I'd get a chance to see otherwise. Neko comes to Philly often enough that this would not be likely to be the case (pun intended) with her.

Every time I've driven to the Mann, I've gotten lost getting out of the city, and this time was no exception. Uncle John said he thought I should turn right on Girard Avenue, but I misremembering a map, and went left instead, which took me into Center City. Finding my way back out wasn't that difficult, but I'm not exactly a fan of driving around Philly in the middle of the night. At least I know which way to go next time, but considering how rarely I go to shows at the Mann, I probably won't remember.

Comments

[revme.livejournal.com]

... I take it "14th Street" isn't the Laura Cantrell song, right? That'd be awesome if it was, since that's a great, great song.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

No, it's a different song. But yeah, the Laura Cantrell song is excellent. When she performed it in Philadelphia, someone in the audience pointed out that Philly doesn't have a 14th Street (which is true; it has Broad Street instead).

[terpsichord.livejournal.com]

Definitely sounds like a good time, I would've liked to have heard Rufus sing "Hallelujah" with or without his sister.

[vovat.livejournal.com]

Well, I've heard him sing it live twice now, so...yeah. It was pretty cool.