I deeply enjoy Rufus' sound and was quite intrigued by the theme of this ambitious production, so I've been looking forward all summer to this concert.
This was the last in a series of Garland tributes, and you'd think that Rufus would have established the vocal ranges and have practiced the heck out of the high notes to make them bright and polished and worthy of Ms. Garland's fabulous memory. ...but... Don't get me wrong - it was quite an enjoyable concert, and the music was grand. There were simply too many episodes of voice cracking and lyric forgetting to meet my expectations. (This is the Hollywood Bowl, not the Knitting Factory.) I also expected more emotion in his voice and performance, but the performance was marred too often by vampy "look - I'm a gay guy performing Judy Garland!" type of sentiment to be as sincere as it ought to have been. Surprisingly, the drag costumes Rufus donned in the encore actually helped the situation. With the costume making the statement, Rufus' performances were freed to be more real.
I'd give this a '4' (better than average) were it not for the amazing performance of "Stormy Weather" by Rufus' sister, Martha Wainwright. There's something in her voice that could possibly grate on me, but her performance was so full of honest emotion that I rather wanted her to continue the concert herself. I also appreciated the surprisingly refreshing appearance of Judy Garland's (not Liza) daughter, Lorna Luft, and by Rufus' mother on piano. The concert is bumped up when judged as a family affair, rated 3.
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