An intimate evening with Rufus

The concert was a family affair, with Wainwright's aunt, Sloan Wainwright (youngest sister of his famous father, Loudon Wainwright III) opening for her nephew. Accompanied by band mate Steve Murphy, Sloan leisurely made her way through six songs while joking with the audience. Though it was obvious that viewers were anxious for the arrival of her nephew, Sloan's big, vibrating voice filled the theater with a sound reminiscent of both classically trained and folksy, hippie-ish singers. The standout song of this batch was "Wild in this World," a bluesy song that really took advantage of the warmth and depth of her voice while allowing Murphy a chance at an entertaining blues guitar solo.

Rufus arrived quietly, dressed simply but with punch in the "Opera hunk" T-shirt and red pants. He hurried to his piano and opened with "Grey Gardens" before addressing the audience. "I was fine two seconds ago, but all of a sudden I got nervous when I remembered that I failed out of two universities," he said before moving smoothly into "This Love Affair."

Alone except for two songs that he sang with his aunt, Wainwright ran through a stripped-down selection of songs -19 with four encores - from all of his albums, played only on piano and guitar. There was no band, no violins, no trumpets, no flute, no percussion, just Wainwright, his voice and the audience.

The Matthews Theatre was turned into a small little coffee house for two hours that night, as Wainwright joked with the audience, singing with his powerful and moving, though undeniably nasal, voice. The night was so laid back that when Wainwright made a mistake while playing the beautifully intricate "Nobody's off the Hook" and tried to catch up with the song like a kid at a recital, the audience only laughed, enjoying this as much as any other joke. At one point, a fan sang out a few lyrics before Wainwright could, momentarily unsettling him in a fit of laughter.

This unconcerned approach especially benefited some songs, like "Gay Messiah," which Wainwright dedicated "in a very loving and kind way" to the visiting Pope. The song became a sort of hopeful plea with his simple strumming and ardent voice.

One surprise of the night was "Zebulon," an unreleased song about "a more innocent era when you really didn't know anything dark existed," Wainwright said. The song is sung over the piano melody, which rises and falls repeatedly until the end, almost like following the arc of a happy, innocent life that gradually grows tired and is dragged down into depression. It's a sad and delicate song that could haunt you for days.

Wainwright enjoyed three standing ovations, one before each of his two encore sets and one final one as he walked leisurely off the stage. The first song of the first encore, "Little Sister," he dedicated to the ladies in the audience, saying "it's really because of you that I'm successful." The crowd was particularly pleased to hear Wainwright's cover of "Hallelujah" during the first encore. The last piece of the encores was dedicated to his father, to whom Wainwright alluded a few times during the evening and did not want to leave out of the family-filled night, which included not only Wainwright's aunt, but also an uncle and his boyfriend, both of whom were in the audience.

Despite the few negative points of the show - the occasional mistakes and the toll that performing so many numbers took on Wainwright's voice toward the end - Wainwright's charm and skill more than made up for it. As much as his band is wonderful, this show was a testament that even without it, Wainwright would still be raking in the fans.