Patrick Wolf
Obelisk Arena
Saturday, 17.30
Mr Wolf starts off sounding like Bryan Ferry as interpreted by Vic Reeves in the Club Style. While dressed in a monochrome union flag outfit. And playing a flying V. And adopting ludicrous poses to play the ukulele. And bringing on a boy from south London to MC while wearing a silver triangle in ‘Bloodbeat'. And changing into tiny Teutonic alp yomping shorts that, er show off his generous lad. It really should be an embarrassing panto disaster, especially when Wolf keeps shouting things like "Latittooooooood! Let's rock! C'mon! The sun is coming out!" to accompany his cabaret gesticulations between every song. But, curiously, the daftness is a strength. It's as if Wolf embraces the slight naffness to his camp, but bolsters it with a superb live band - weak backing has always let him down live in the past. Today, they give everything a populist industrial sheen that has then fruity public school post-GCSE yearbook Tabithas flocking to the front...
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