MP3: Rufus Wainwright Live at Union Chapel Studio, London, 6th June 2003

Okay here's something quite special, although I admit it's completely out of the scope of my supposed blog canon. I was asked by someone if they could have a copy of the Rufus Wainwright gig at the Union Chapel from a few years back that I was lucky enough to go to, and on listening back to it I was so surprised by the quality that I thought I would put the whole thing up for people to enjoy. To this day it's one of the best gigs I've ever seen.

This was a long while before Want One was released and people in Britain finally took some notice of Rufus, and so the show was in a 100-150 capacity backroom of a church (although admittedly a nice church). The stage was about 2 feet high and we were sat around a small table with candles on it about a metre away. Gigs this special don't come along too often, and it really was fantastic. Luckily for me, being a much bigger fan of Rufus' first two albums he played a bunch of stuff from them. That's not to lessen the quality of the five Want previews, in fact seem to confirm my feelings that the songs on those two records would work a lot better without the full band arrangements and the (I think) rather over the top production. The version of In My Arms that finishes the show is one of the top 5 greatest song performances i've been lucky enough to see, and I think a bit of that definitely comes through on the mp3. Oh and the between song banter is also pretty hilarious too.

Anyway this show was recorded by my friend Mike on his minidisc, but it's still of surprisingly good quality, although you can hear his chair creaking slightly, and there are also a few tiny skips (in songs 2, 11-13, 16) and a moron with a mobile phone, but I don't think they distract from the enjoyment of the show too much. Anyway Mike is a pretty fantastic singer/songwriter/composer, so if you want to say an internet style thank you to him for the show, check out his site and download some of his music. Hope you enjoy the mp3s, and if you've got Want One or Two, go and buy Rufey's first two albums, as in my mind they're vastly superior to what came after.

All songs on rapidshare.

01 - Grey Gardens - MP3 4.92mb
02 - Cigarettes & Chocolate Milk - MP3 4.86mb
03 - In A Graveyard / Complainte De La Butte - MP3 5.63mb
04 - California - MP3 4.01mb
05 - Greek Song - MP3 5.48mb
06 - Want - MP3 6.28mb
07 - Beauty Mark - MP3 2.01mb
08 - Pretty Things - MP3 3.19mb
09 - I Wonder What Became Of Me - MP3 4.46mb
10 - Poses - MP3 4.56mb
11 - Beautiful Child - MP3 5.06mb
12 - Gay Messiah - MP3 5.10mb
13 - Dinner At Eight - MP3 4.08mb
14 - Foolish Love - MP3 5.92mb
15 - Millbrook - MP3 2.23mb
16 - In My Arms - MP3 5.61mb