Patrick Wolf, Portsmouth Wedgewood Rooms
Declaring that he wants to be our next entry in Eurovision, he ends with a 2009 version of 'Magic Position'.
As a cult hero to a legion of fabulously dressed teens who swoon at the near mention of his name, Patrick Wolf will always have an audience of hardcore fans swimming in glitter and religiously screaming every lyric back at him. Only he still has yet to cross over to the big league and even on his fourth album tour he is still struggling to succeed.
Supported by the semi-performance art/dance troupe Yacht (who try their best to outdo Patrick's bizarreness), Wolf certainly knows how to make an entrance and tonight is no exception. Sporting bleached blonde hair, tight red trousers and vest top with a zip that he would teasingly zip up and down as the night went along, this is the look for May 2009 and will surely become passé by this time next month. His band (oddly including Tom White from Brakes) seem so ordinary in comparison; although brilliant, they are merely there as a backing band. The focus is on Patrick who chooses a Madonna-esque head mic, allowing him full freedom to strut hands-free.
Focusing mainly on his new album 'The Bachelor', he certainly knows his way around a stage, and the six-piece band create the epic sound of the album almost at ease, Patrick himself playing at least five instruments tonight. Out of his repertoire that must be nearing a hundred by now, and he still has the energy to jump on drum risers and reach over the barrier, singing directly to a gushing audience member. It is tracks from past albums like 'Bluebells', 'Accidents & Emergency' and 'Tristan' that are the highlights. He seems frustrated that his new material isn't as well received as it should be, challenging us to dance to 'Battle' and hanging from spotlights to make sure his orders are carried out by his army of followers. Thankfully they are, and as a reward he again unzips to show off his boyish torso to many a screaming fan.
There are a few sound issues - sourcing mainly from his head mic - that spoil the show. It takes away some of the power of 'Hard Times' when there is almost no vocal for the majority of the track, spoiling what Patrick jokingly hoped was his "chance for a Grammy". He exits the stage, to return for an encore newly dressed in full vulture wings, for his latest single aptly titled 'Vulture'. Declaring that he wants to be our next entry in Eurovision to a round of applause, he ends with a 2009 version of 'Magic Position', that to the untrained ear sounds remarkably like the 2007 version, but this doesn't take away from its brilliance. A fitting way to end any gig, it's a shame that he left out so many tracks from his previous albums.
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