A lot can be said about Rufus Wainwright. He’s about one of the campest gays ever. He’s a drama queen. He makes loads of mistakes during gigs. Yet, he’s brilliant and he is the musical love of my life. I have seen him play at Paradiso in Amsterdam a couple of times, which have been great experiences.

In May Rufus did a few nights at The Old Vic, one of my favourite theatres in London, to mark the release of his new album Release the Stars. Still coming to grip with his new material, the gig felt a bit awkward at time, but it as highly enjoyable. With a good mix of old and new songs, Rufus never fails to wow the audience with his showmanship and skill as a performer. His gigs show his music works, no matter what. The studio recording might contain double string orchestras and a pianoforte, the live version will be stripped down to piano and vocals and will be equally breathtaking.

Rufus showed how his material has developed since the Want project and every time his gigs get more theatrical. After a mini-tour with a replica of Judy Garland’s legendary Carnegie hall concert, it may even have become more camp. I have seen him nailed at the cross singing Gay Massiah before, now he came on stage wearing lederhosen and showing some amazing legs! As a woman, I am jealous!

For the half hour encore, the lederhosen made way for a bathrobe and later on black tights with a black jacket and lipstick, I may even have seen some jazz hands. I told you it was camp.

As for the music, well, it is always difficult to capture that in words. Rufus’ music always goes to the core. It is one of those rare things that makes you feel happy, sad, excited, ecstatic, all at the same time. The genius of his songwriting is astounding. At 33 (or is it 34 by now?) his repertoire is so mature. The music is hard to define, is it pop, is it alternative, is it classical? I’ll happily stick to Baroque pop, that’ll do. If Wiki says so, it must be true. The lyrics can sometimes be a bit cheesy, but overall they are beautifully crafted.

It was a wonderful night. Not only because of The Mighty Rufus on stage, but also me being squashed against two original History Boys on my way out of the auditorium in the intermission. So, yes, a good night was had.