Watching Patrick Wolf, it is hard to tell if he’s coming from a place of innocence or corruption. One time I saw Alan Cumming as the Emcee in Cabaret at a slightly revamped Studio 54, and it is this performance that I think to compare Wolf’s stage presence with. It’s an obvious homage to the whole burlesque thing, but even more so this 1930’s Berlin feeling. Multiple raggedy costume changes, flamboyant and over the top. I mean the man nodded his head and the whole stage was practically enveloped in red glitter. He also reminded me of a “Lost Boy”.
His music; he played some popular numbers off Wind in the Wires like “Libertine” and “Tristan”, as well as some new material off this month’s The Magic Position. Although he addressed the audience several times between songs, there was no talk of his claim of leaving the music business. The band is fun, with a violin and a stand-up bass that was alternately bowed. On top of that, there was, of course, the wide variety of instruments that Wolf plays himself. In fact among this menagerie of instrumentation, Wolf brought out his Theremin, a rare sighting which I actually had the pleasure of seeing played twice that week. The other time was at Michael Hearst’s show for Songs for Ice Cream Trucks. Theremins are crazy. When I was younger, a kid in my class played a Theremin at the school talent show. It sadly and inevitably didn’t make him any friends.
The show that Wolf puts on wraps you up. It was a totally fantastical experience and I enjoyed being in the completeness of it all. I’m glad nothing took me out of it. The new drummer behaved and the band kept tightly on point. The fans were a mixed bag, NYU students, a bunch of bridge and tunnel kids, all interspersed with familiar bowery faces. It was all fans though, the show was sold out and the audience waited patiently during an excessive set break after the opener. Clearly Patrick Wolf isn’t leaving this business anytime soon.
