||| NO PHOTO | CANDOR | VOX | CALLS | NO MAN’S LAND AND GOODBYE |

NO PHOTO : In|ad|ae|qu|at proudly presents it’s hot wire , brought to you from the Rufus Wainwright Live concert – solo ! – @ legendary Arena , ancient abattoir .

NO PHOTO : Amidst to clicking , snapping , flashing and whining of countless cell phone cameras , there was much reason to consider earnestly the necessity of the conversion to iconoclasm .

Despite large signs asking for NO FLASH , PLEASE , the majority of those amateur concert shooters wasn’t able to disable their in – built light sources , not to speak of the electronic trigger sound emanating from those devices , wrecking the delicate peacefulness of Wainright’s solo performance . |||

NO PHOTO : What is it that makes people use their POINT- AND- SHOOT cell phone cameras as a weapon against the stage , against the experience of Real Presence ( George Steiner ) – and against any abandonment to the enchanted music ? – What is it that people are preoccupied with the production of “proofs of presence” rather than going and glowing with the flow ? – “User Generated Content” as an mulitplication of identical fuzzy shots , similar records of blurred video footage , low- fi audio bootlegs ?! |||

CANDOR

Despite the audience’s awkward comportment , Rufus Wainwright didn’t hesitate to proove  his talents perfectly : Boyish grace , genuine charisma , charming candor ( if not a pose ? ) , perfect intonation , simple but effective accompainments on piano and acoustic guitar , humor and humbleness , ability to connect to the concert hall , a performer at ease and at his best . |||

CALLS

First tuition to the audience : “What is this Vienna here , you are so far away of everything , you are like … like … Turkey” . – “TURKEY ?” – Mmhh , in|ad|ae|qu|at feels a little bit piqued upon this statement which was probably resulting from the linguistic association of the name of the country and the actual thanksgiving – turkey ? – No laughter , no reply among the audience : Obviously nobody did enjoy this word – play very much .

Second remark : “Last time I played in Vienna was at the Schloss Schonbrunn , and now I play in a night club “. Third remark : “I am sorry I do not have my band with me , but you know , tomorrow we play in Milano , and Vienna is so far away from everywhere , I just came on my own . “( What is this Pierrot talking about ? – After lately having taken up residence at Berlin ?! ) |||

VOX

So , Rufus might not be the ideal stand- up comedian . But he definitely is a virtuoso vocalist . This guy is able to switch – within a split second – from joking to an intimate attitude . Whatever – love , longing , sorrow and pain – Wainwright is the right man to write the chords and the words . Simple , yet complex melodies , lyrics and flow . |||

NO PHOTO : Figure a sweet thirty- something , born 1973 in Rhinebeck , New York wearing “Lederhosen” ( rather Bavarian than Tyrolean style , by the way ) , greeting his beloved boyfriend from the stage , dedicating a Chanson d’Amour . Fancy this sweet thirty- something making fun of himself , talking about this concert as a meta- performance – because : “At this point , usually my band comes in , so I just hum along a little bit .” |||

VOX

Gifted with a distinctive timbre , Wainright’s voice from time to time doesn’t sound darling at alll : The voice range thin and compressed overexerting itself though ( very ) long , sustained notes , may cut through your ears at times . But then , all of a sudden , Rufus takes a breathtaking turn and voilà all his brilliance : soft , stunning intervalls , astonishing chords , uneven bar counts , silence , repetition , closed eyes , open heart .

Best song highlightening this concert ? – While czz clearly yields to “Cigarettes And Chocolate Milk” ( @ YouTube ) , kap explains his preference of “Peach Tree” ( @ UCLA ) as follows : Half-tone slides in blues style , dynamics , rich spectral formants . Perhaps this singer one day will find himself grown out the wunderkind- role , the Ganymedes- game and will discover the lower ranges of existence , and the lower ranges of ( his ) voice . |||

CALLS

Wanna more quotation- giveaways ? – Here we go :

The next song is so silly , like Vienna , the music of Johann Strauss , it is a joke , a silly joke “. – “Some years ago I played in Vienna in a club under a train station , and before the concert I drank a lot of wine . So when I walked on the stage , I claimed that I am the reincarnation of Mozart , I am the new Mozart , but then I failed in the middle of the song , so Mozart came upon me and slapped me in the face . It was a lesson : No no no , I am not the new Mozart . Don’t worry , Mozart : Here I am , I am the new Rufus.

On his site @ myspace we discover “Papa Verdi” a”main influence”. Not very mozartien … |||

NO PHOTO : Nicely mixed crowd @ the audience – age 15 to 75 – , distinguished necktied bourgeois , lots of those frail baby – faces , tall and very earnest boys , girliez maximal , dolcissime fe | male mirrowing the Big Smiles of the smooth singer songewriter , the sweet darling of the Gods , Ganymedes . |||

NO MAN’S LAND AND GOODBYE

However : When the music’s over ( Turn out the lights ) , you get back to your Poèmes Saturniens ( Paul Verlaine ) , feeling somehow relieved to wipe this eternal smile out of your face . Allthough you might be ready now for the prehistoric punkrock echoing from the club nearby , you stumble out into the dark and lonely winter night , into the no man’s land between warehouses , highways , deserted park – and ride areas . Go or Go ahead .

Thanks for this ephemeral trip into brightness , and thanks for the no pic- tip , too , Rufus , aka Ganymedes darling of the Gods ( and everybody below ) . |||