Patrick Wolf live!
Patrick Wolf
Metro, Chicago
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
If he so chose, Patrick Wolf could probably get by on spectacle alone. Maybe on just his fans. One curiously dressed attendee donned a silver-sequined frock while another, sporting homeless chic, tapped away on an iPhone. Somehow the South London prodigy retains the headliner status at his own shows.
Much the way his unusual life story is condensed on his Wikipedia page, Wolf handled the prospect of pulling a coherent concert out of his winding catalog with aplomb on Tuesday night. Dressed like Pinocchio run through the Thunderdome (the gold-toe socks were a nice touch), he was almost restless as he switched roles of classical pianist, violin soloist, and Morrissey. His musical agility was certainly at odds with his awkwardly tall frame and violently bleached hair, yet the sight of him lended a sense of danger to the sublime performance — as if he could throw a fit and tear it apart in seconds.
He didn’t. There was just way too much to keep track of. Beginning with “Wind In The Wires,” he balanced his miniature, nylon-stringed guitar against a soft falsetto. Later, for “Magpie” he slotted opener Bishi in for Marianne Faithfull’s parts and cued some eerie chiming effects for “The Stars.”
The cabaret brightness of his current album, The Magic Potion (Low Altitude), was more or less subdued as he traded riffs with his tour-band violinist, or plucked and strummed one the way he did for “Pigeon Song.” Even singing “I am alive” was met with gravity as “Tristan” fretted about its identity. The pounding, piano-based “Bluebells” was similarly foreboding and gripped and shook the waiting-to-party vibe of his audience.
As with the like-minded Rufus Wainwright or Antony And The Johnsons, the visuals are par for the course (did I mention he arrived on stage with a tiny kite perched above his left shoulder?). Maybe it’s subconscious, maybe it’s to inspire community, or keep the squares away. But it’s also superfluous. Wolf’s music is strong enough.
— Steve Forstneger
Category: Live Reviews, Weekly
