KEY POINTS:
He called our Dame Kiri a "cool b****", described his gift pounamu pendant as a "fetus surfboard" and said we were getting the same show as Hobart because they couldn't afford to fly the band there either.
But if Rufus Wainwright risked sounding in print like he wasn't
here to make friends, the New York-based singer-songwriter did quite the opposite in his marvellous and sold-out first New Zealand appearance.
He's the second Wainwright through town in recent times, having been preceded by his singer-songwriter sister Martha. He'll be followed by his funny folk-singing father Loudon III in a couple of weeks
But unlike those of his mainly solo acoustic relatives, Wainwright's albums have often relied on some extravagant gestures. Early on he admitted he wouldn't be playing some of the songs off last year's Release the Stars due to his lack of band.
But Wainwright and his voice accompanied by his elegant piano playing or guitar worked out just fine, especially as his depressing - his words - ballads were nicely countered with his between-song patter. Opera fanatic Rufus did say that about Kiri out of admiration. Oh, and even if his famous folk-singing mother Kate McGarrigle remembers New Zealand as being "awful" from the time she was here, he thought things had obviously improved.
Anyway, thankfully the comedy didn't overtake the music, which reminded us that while Wainwright is a stand-out artist for being openly gay and has won a following from both teams, his songs mix up his classical training, his operatic leanings, his Leonard Cohen-esque lyrics and his ear for a good tune to beguiling effect.
Wainwright's set still had a backbone of pared-back Release the Stars songs like his political ode to America, Going to A Town ("You took advantage of a world that loved you well"), but also stretched back through his 10-year career and beyond - an early highlight was the tender The Maker Makes from Brokeback Mountain.
It might have lacked a little momentum with the emphasis on the heavy-hearted numbers. But with Wainwright's resounding tenor proving a thing of power and beauty live, it was some enchanted evening.
And one made all the more entertaining by openers the Sami Sisters - acting star Madeleine and younger siblings Anji and Priya - who have made starts at solo recording careers. This suggested there's another deep talent pool to give those Topps and Rungas a run for their money.
