A few words on Patrick-

So Patrick Wolf was here in Chicago this past week at the Bottom Lounge and I have to say the short but powerful appearance far exceeded my expectations! With Brit lad sweetness and a very genuine demeanor, he pounded out his extremely nuanced sound to a small audience that by the end of his hour on stage was completely wrapped up in a total give and take spellbinding musical interchange with him. For this, he was surprised, overwhelmed and expressive about how much fun HE was having. The supporting band was skillful, but his violinist wore a slightly stressed and wee bit scared smile while trying to keep up with his violin and the fact that while acting, singing, and posing, it never seemed quite certain exactly which of the many disparate instruments lined up on the stage he would pick up next. While he has obviously picked up much from other British alternative pop performers including Bowie, the Pet Shop Boys, Erasure, Marc Almond and on and on (as well as a healthy classical influence), his pop-rock-folk-lounge-cabaret-torch combo is completely unique in its youth, wisdom, political acuteness, passion and clarity. He unleashed equally spirited rebellion against the Iraq war and Proposition 8. His music contains beauty, love, anger, calls for revolution and understanding, but is always eerily uplifting and reassuring throughout. He is both versatile and sage enough to collaborate with an icon like Marianne Faithfull or an icy beauty like Tilda Swinton. His skillful use of all the tricks technology offers does not in any way undermine the earth-bound soul of his music. He is vastly talented and currently underappreciated in my view, but still manages to see farther than most singers his age while remaining humble enough to share his journey which is where he manages to connect at heart with his fans. I couldn't have asked for more- except a better camera and a little more stamina after standing for several hours of opening acts to hang out and get a picture with him. But there's always the next show. Chicago awaits til the fall, but in the meantime we'll be listening... to his current album The Bachelor, and his upcoming entitled The Conqueror. His previous albums include: The Magic Position, Wind In The Wires and Lycanthropy. Hit him up for some videos on uTube, or search him on my blog for some clips at:
www.seeingpastred.blogspot.com. You can also leave him a note on his site: http://patrickwolf.com/

http://consequenceofsound.net/2009/06/17/patrick-wolf-brings-his-battle-to-chicagos-bottom-lounge-615/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6IAtn-myak

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6oCNFBY-ODc&feature=related

Meryl at Plan B in the UK said:

“Life will surely never be anything but these falls and crawls back up - it can never be good or bad forever … but all I can see is Wolf continuing, unfailingly, to document life’s elegant cycle.”