Review: Rufus Wainwright at the Count Basie Theatre

Thursday was an atypical night for Rufus Wainwright. From his 1998 self-titled debut album through his latest studio offering, 2007's "Release the Stars," the singer has often surrounded his highly theatrical voice with ornate and elaborate orchestration and arrangements.

However, when he took the stage at Red Bank's Count Basie Theatre last night (Feb. 12), Wainwright was armed only with a grand piano, a couple of his guitars and the occasional assist from his folk-singing sister, Lucy Wainwright Roche.

Of course, Wainwright also had his songs, which have been so good over the years that Elton John once hailed him as "the greatest songwriter on the planet."

Drawing on cuts from every corner of his catalog, Wainwright used the intimate setting to his advantage while delivering songs that touched on topics ranging from unrequited love ("Zebulon")  to critiques of the current political state of the world ("Going to a Town").

The solo acoustic setting, coupled with the stellar sound at the Basie, also served to showcase Wainwright's strong sense of melody. While the singer seems able to pluck hints of timeless melodies out of the ether of pop music, he doesn't really subscribe to the verse-chorus-verse school of songwriting, resulting in story-songs that become incredibly accessible to modern audiences while still retaining a keen sense of theatricality and artistry.

While Wainwright is an incredibly skilled and accomplished songwriter, there are probably plenty of listeners out there who are mainly, or possibly solely, aware of him thanks to a few choice cover tunes he has released over the years.

For example, it was likely that at least some of the parent/child combinations in the audience on Thursday night bought their tickets with the hopes of hearing Wainwright's powerful rendition of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," which was released on the "Shrek" soundtrack (2001) or his take on the Beatles' "Across the Universe" that was recorded for the film "I Am Sam" (2002). Of course, there's also the audience Wainwright likely gained thanks to his 2006 song-for-song recreation of Judy Garland's 1961 "Judy at Carnegie Hall" album.

And while there were no Beatles or Garland tunes to be heard on Thursday night, Wainwright did bust out "Hallelujah" towards the end of his set and shared the vocal duties with his sister, who provided moving and refreshing harmonies to go with Cohen's time-tested melody.

Along with providing the occasional harmony for her brother, Lucy Wainwright Roche also kicked off the evening with a solid half-hour set of downright charming folk which recalled the early writing of Paul Simon in its disarming clarity. 

Between her strong material and her amusing between-song banter -- including a tale of going on a date with a guy whose lung collapsed during dinner -- Roche had won over the Red Bank crowd long before she busted out a cute sing-along cover of Bruce Springsteen's "Hungry Heart" late in her set.

The Wainwright siblings' tour continues tonight (Feb. 13) at the Wellmont Theatre in Montclair, and if that show is anything like last night's Red Bank concert, it's sure to be a must-see. And here's hoping that Rufus Wainwright, who sang the Count Basie Theatre's praises during the show, will return to the Shore soon.

Here's the Rufus Wainwright's set list from Thursday night:

1. "Going to a Town"
2. "Damned Ladies"
3. "Beauty Mark"
4. "Sanssouci"
5. "Want"
6. "California"
7. "In a Graveyard"
8. "Grey Gardens"
9. "When Most I Wink"
10. "Imaginary Love"
11. "Not Ready To Love"
12. "April Fools"
13. "Katonah"
14. "Art Teacher"
15. "Zebulon"
16. "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk"

Encore:
17. "Little Sister"
18. "Hallelujah"
19. "Gay Messiah"