Patrick Wolf has been missing from music for a very long time – over 10 years since his last record, in fact. However, with the recent release of his Night Safari EP he returns to stage for his first tour in over seven years tonight at The Globe. There’s no support band this evening but a playlist specially curated by Patrick to set the mood.
Opening with Enter The Day, the EP’s closing track, it’s as if Patrick’s never been away, with his charisma on stage always shining through. “I hope you’re strapped in”, Patrick warns us. “We’ve been rehearsing and I’m going to take you on a 20-year journey this evening…” This is followed by a double whammy of Overture, from 2007’s The Magic Position album, into 2009’s Hard Times – the only cut appearing from The Bachelor this evening.
“I feel like a giant trampling a model village tonight”, Patrick says, carefully manoeuvring his way through the smorgasbord of instruments onstage. “If we survive without any broken instruments, it’ll be successful!” Thereafter, 2005’s The Libertine (“if Hard Times is the sequel,” he suggests, “then this is the prequel” and wonderful versions of both The Bluebell and Bluebells.
Of course, this isn’t just a greatest hits show or Patrick’s version of the Eras Tour – this is a journey into the Night Safari. EP cut Dodona builds beautifully live, its percussion coming in over strings and Patrick’s wonderful vocals, while later in the set Nowhere Game takes on a whole new life with the drums driving the song even more than on the record.
“I saw a TikTok about things you shouldn’t do during a performance, of which number one was no dead air. I’m haunted by things I’m told to do by the internet!” Patrick says, and The Days is accompanied by mention of its use in the soundtrack to 2017 film God’s Own Country. The main set finishes with a trio of The Magic Position, House and The City, filling the room with so much joy it can barely be contained, before an encore of The Night Safari and To The Lighthouse.
After the latter, Patrick reasons, “Well, I couldn’t leave you with a smile, could I?” – and yet the room is practically beaming. It’s been a wonderful return to the stage for Mr Wolf, and an exciting time to see where he goes next.
Patrick Wolf, The Globe, Cardiff, Wed 19 Apr
words JOSHUA WILLIAMS
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