Reviews

I'd been told not to miss Scott Matthews' support slot by people who'd seen him at Latitude and supporting the Foo Fighters at the Regent in 2006. However, I made an error thinking the doors opened at 7.30pm rather than that being when the show started. D'oh.

Scott Matthews in concert at Warwick Uni

I caught his final song - very nice with Scott on guitar accompanied by cello - and like many other reviews, I can say that he reminds me of Jeff Buckley.

Carry on camping

By the end of his Rufus Wainwright's two hour show, after three costume changes (via spangles, lederhosen and dressing gowns), he had the whole of the Regent up on their feet applauding as he strutted off stage. Next stop after Ipswich? Paris, to go to the opera with his mother.

The event was billed as Rufus with his band, but for much of the show there was only one star on stage. His amazing voice swooped and soared to fill the Regent.

In contrast to some other concerts I have seen recently, he really engaged with the crowd – gently mocking Ipswich ("which is…somewhere I’ve never been before"), telling anecdotes about Oscar Wilde and forgetting the endings to songs to get us all eating out of his hand.

He apologised for his band being "a bit raggedy" after a late night in London, and said that that "Ipswich was going to see the fun show".

And we did – he started by going through some of the main songs from his latest album Release The Stars, building to a crescendo just before the interlude with Between My Legs. The song, which features a spoken word interlude, has been sung by local fans, who've posted their efforts on the YouTube website.

Up stepped Christine to the stage, dancing along with the band before grabbing the microphone and belting out her lines (which she partly forgot in the excitement!).

There was a brief interlude, to allow for a costume change for Rufus and a swift drink for the crowd, and he came bouncing back on stage. He sang a couple of numbers from his Judy Garland tribute, settled down at the piano to play some intimate numbers.

It built to an incredible climax with each of his multi-talented band taking an extended solo before walking off. The crowd were again on their feet.

Friend of Dorothy

Mr Wainwright then walks out again, dressed in a long white dressing gown. There's a seat at the front, no microphone ...

He sits down, brings out a make up bag, starts putting on ear-rings, mascara, and finally lipstick…

The lights dim and then come back on ...

We have Rufus in high heels, fishnets, dinner jacket and hat (a la Miss Garland), and his band are miming their way through a dance routine to Come On Get Happy.

The performance ends, by this point nobody thinks it's strange when Rufus, still dressed as Judy Garland, picks up a guitar and belts out two more songs.

A final bow from the whole band, and the crowd depart, stunned, amazed but above all entertained, by the Rufus Wainwright Show.