Loudon Wainwright III / Lucy Wainwright Roche

I appear to have missed the third singing offspring of the Loudon Wainwright clan; as I rush to find my seat Lucy Wainwirght Roche has just finished and is taking a bow. Bugger.

Not like I haven’t seen plenty of singers with this surname and the vocal gene. Though all very different when delivering music, they are all strikingly similar, Rufus, Martha and their pop, even if they don’t like to admit it.

‘Heaven’ is a fantastic tune about all you sins being allowed and encouraged behind the pearly gates. Yes drinking, smoking (“that’s where all the clouds come from”), sex; all ok to pass. Loudon has a manic grin and likes to lick his lips like he’s just done a lap of the Sahara. All very good for raising a laugh, even from the older generations in the audience.



Telling us the old name (‘Sink The Bismarck’) and the new name (‘New Paint’), leads to a laugh as it is a song which came about after trying to pick up a German girl in his younger days in London’s Hyde Park. Even funnier is the song ‘Double Lifetime’ (“make mine a double”), a tongue twisting tune that some younger people would struggle with singing at that speed. Loudon states early on that he was always obsessed with getting old, and now it’s happened it’s all the more weird.

Amongst the comedy banter and songs are some sweet ditties, like the (maybe not so sweet actually) divorce-riddled song ‘5 Years Old’ written for Martha during a difficult time. This is made easier by Loudon getting everyone to sing along with the chorus and try and forget the verses.

To promote the new album appearing in the summer called ‘Strange Weirdos’, which is actually the soundtrack for film ‘Knocked Up’ that Loudon also stars in (as a gynaecologist, “A dream comes true” he jokes) we are treated to ‘Grey LA’, a sombre song about enjoying the rain instead of the sun and fake feeling of the place. Also ‘Final Frontier’, which gets me thinking how much he looks like Clint Eastwood from up here in the dress circle.


A cover of Mose Allison's ‘I Feel So Good’ causes many giggles as Loudon makes a few mistakes in the intro and rightly says “It’s not my song, I don’t know it that well!”

Requests start flooding in now, and it appears that those with the loudest voices get their wish. ‘I Don’t Think That Your Wife Likes Me’ (or ‘I.D.T.T.Y.W.L.M’) is enough to make anyone laugh, with it’s clever lyrics (“Forced smiles/Hostile on the phone”) and the use of hand and foot taps incorporated into the tune, along with the bum note after every line. ‘Unrequited’ is another song about getting old but adding a laugh; in fact many laughs, chuckles, ho hos, sniggers, and chortles in the chorus.

After ‘Primrose Hill’ Loudon is joined on stage by Lucy, my chance to see her at least. I can’t decide if she has a lot of faith in these songs; she sounds great whilst providing harmonies with her dad but when singing alone in the verses she is very quiet and looking unsure. That said her dainty innocent voice and his manic style make for a good pairing. They sing ‘You Can’t Fail Me Now’, ‘Please Remember My Song’ and ‘Out Of This World’, just a few plucked from Loudon’s back catalogue spanning nearly forty years.


Requests are thrown at him this time, but he seems a little more subdued and plays a few slow, meaningful songs, which, to be fair, I didn’t note the names of, as I like him better as a comedy poet than a folk singer, though his songs are of the highest calibre.

Back to the aging theme with more funny lyrics, with ‘Look like Shit’ and ‘Sixty’, his age to date. Then forgetting what I said before, my avourite folk song of the night ‘White Wine’, before a few more requests like ‘I’d Rather Be Lonely’ (which sounds funny coming from the woman shouting it out near the front), ‘Overseas Call’ and ‘Hanky Fred’(featuring tributes to Hank Williams and Fred Rogers, a kid’s TV presenter).

Apart from the annoying mobiles ringing now and again and the sheer heat in the place, the show was a success. I have never heard of this particular Wainwright before but would recommend a listen and not just relying on his kids to bring out successful songs.

FUTURE GIGS

sorry, we currently have no gigs listed for this act.