Wednesday 8 December 2010

Patrick Wooooooooolf: electro folk pioneer

Ok, I realise that some people - particularly folk stalwarts - would say that Bob Dylan was an electro folk pioneer; but trust me 'folks', ha ha, he's a completely different breed.

I have been following Patrick Wolf for a long time now and in some respects this is the best gig I've seen him perform.

He bounds onto the stage in a red boiler suit complete with black belt and red suit jacket with a fantastically angular red flower to complement the black ones covering the keyboard; only Patrrick Wolf can pull this shit off without me wanting to punch him.

The set gets onto a cracking start with Bluebells, one of my favourite tracks off The Magic Position.



The current sound

Since I saw him last he's become far more orchestral in his live performance.

Although I sort of miss the days of him standing pretty much alone on stage fighting to create his beautifully emersive tracks with technical wizardry and sheer passion, he has lost none of his passion and now brings the instrumentation to pack the kind of punch his songs demand.

He winds us through new and old songs seemlessly, telling tales and giving thanks in his classic delicate yet assured style.

Following The Libertine:



New Material

We are introduced to what he calls his Libertine for today, This City.

It proves a beautiful piece with all of the passion, pace and poignancy of his best work.

A sustained and enthusiastic applause brings him back for an encore and he finishes up with The Magic Position, the song that ensured I parted with the cash to buy that particular album.



One last question

So after the ICA gig supporting Franz Ferdinand, the clustered audience at the Barfly, Valentine's night at The Borderline and the magesty of Union Chapel; what's The Magic Position, eh, Patrick?

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