Why Rufus is bigger in Europe than he is in the US you ask? Well, I wouldn’t know!
Even my old ranting self has to take a break here, because there is nothing bad to say about this gig. Well, it did start early, tickets said 9pm but when I got to the venue at 8.30pm, Martha had already started playing 
Other than that, it was one of those rare magical gigs where everything is perfect. Martha certainly was everything I had expected her to be and so much more, her voice is breathtakingly beautiful and even the numerous oldish gay men that always show up for Rufus were pretty much eating out of her hand by the end of the set.
I love the way she is all high-strung while talking to the audience one minute, only to literally plunge into this emotional rollercoaster of a song that makes you feel like your soul is being stripped layer by layer until nothing is left but the feelings you have been trying to push aside – and above everything else, that incredible voice of hers. And, if I may say so, her breasts are simply spectacular, LOL. Fun fact of the day: “Ball and Chain” is about male genitalia.
The testosterone-level hit a new high when the stage went dark and the first chords of “Oh What A World” started playing – the quintessential opener to any Rufus Wainwright show. Rufie donned a pretty outfit again, another sparkling brooch coupled with a dashing scarf – he sure knows how to accessorize.
This gig was much more fast-paced than the balladesque set at the Bürgerhaus Stollwerck that I saw earlier this year. He called the musical genre of “Go or Go Ahead” heavy metal, announcing the transition from “Little Sister” as “from baroque to… broken”. He later hedged the classification by labelling it “she-metal” – sadly, too late for the poor guy standing a few rows in front of me. He collapsed during that song, I totally didn’t get what was going on at first, I thought he was making out with his girlfriend and hence politely turned my head, it was only when paramedics pulled him out that I realized.
Apart from the health scare, I also feel bad for the guy because obviously he missed a great set with many little stories about Cologne. Rufus told about his first visit to the city together with his mother and aunt when he was about 14 and they took the train from Bonn. People in Bonn apparently weren’t very friendly, empyting a bucket of cold water over their heads while they were singing in the streets, but he loved the train ride and remembered the hippies that used to sit on the stairs in front of the Cologne central station, thinking, “Wow, I really must get back here at some point” (I guess he’s succeeded at that). Or how he likes Cologne a lot, especially the area that the venue is located in with its many interesting bookstores – “So many books with pictures of naked men. I almost didn’t make it to the show”. I’m pretty sure that one of the bookstores in question is “Bruno’s”. Or how they used to feel guilty about singing a Christmas song during their European tour, until they got to Cologne and its many Christmas markets. Apparently we’re the pros of Christmas, and every day is Christmas in Cologne. Rufus, the preoccupation of being a “Kölner” is avoiding the Christmas markets 
Or how we are a great audience, and I believe him, because the audience already was enthusiastic back in April, but compared to what was going on last night, it was nothing. Many spontaneous rounds of cheers, never-ending applause which Rufus tried to stop by saying “halten” – I think it all reflected back to him, because this time the set was even longer, at least one of the encores probably wasn’t planned because it was a rendition of Schubert with Rufus trying to remember both the notes and the lyrics, very impressive nevertheless.
I totally agree about the audience by the way. Enough room to move, even in the first couple of rows – and all that in a sold-out venue. So it is possible after all! I also spotted my favourite DJ in the audience which added a nice touch.
There were two highlights for me, one being the first set of encores consisting of “Old Whore’s Diet” and “Gay Messiah”. I don’t want to give it all away, I’m just saying dance routine, robes, mercenaries, lipstick, golden crown of thorns, crucifixion.
Old Whore’s Diet (Reprise) 29.9MB ::right-click, save target/link as::
The other one was the most hauntingly beautiful version of “Beautiful Child”, the final song. Suddenly everyone around me started making out – since I didn’t have anyone to make out with (well, I guess I could have found someone, but just wasn’t in the mood ), I jumped at the opportunity and took a couple of pictures of old guys making out. Ahh, what more could a girl want. Perfect conclusion to a perfect night.
Little did I know that the night was to get even better…. because:
I met Martha!!!!!
My face has been censored in order to protect the innocent and the squeamish
I will spare you the details here because you’ve had to endure enough of my enthusiasm already. She is totally enchanting, and I did actually alternate between shaking, thinking about fainting and being on the verge of tears – and for big’ ol’ icequeen me that is saying a lot.
Logs are showing that I get quite a few page hits from people looking for info on Daniela Sea. Since not giving you what you want makes me feel guilty, I have tried to collect some information.
Finally, MTV did well again. This year’s show did not suck – at all. The show kicked off with a performance by Madonna – I remained open-mouthed through most of it. For a start, she was wearing the pantie-outfit again, which I find slightly disturbing. Surprising, since legs and thighs in particular can hardly look any better than hers. Yet, it is too reminiscent of the nightmares where you forget to get fully clothed before you leave the house. Ok, so these are MY nightmares. But I’m slowly learning to embrace them. Madonna in the meantime took her jacket off as well. Ahhh, so much better. The sexy sexy dance routines that followed made me glad I was European. Will they get censored for US TV? Do they even show the EMAs on US TV?
I always wanted a pair of Vans “Sk8-Hi”s while growing up which actually was *cough* a long time ago. While on a shopping-spree, one of many in the last couple of weeks (is this becoming an addiction? Should I start getting worried?) I saw this pair with Japanese screen prints, a real bargain, too good to miss really, so I bought them. Now they’re sitting here and I’m thinking, “What the hell, where am I supposed to wear them?” I mean, they are pretty, but I can’t really see myself wearing them – yet. I’ve decided to wear them to work tomorrow, lets see how the coworkers react. I’m half-expecting shock and horror – but it does not matter, I’m pretty efficient at putting stuff up for sale at eBay these days!
