Rufus Wainwright

Rufus’ first live album wasn’t exactly Rufus—instead it was Rufus sharing the spotlight with the spirit of Judy Garland, re-enacting Garland’s legendary 1961 Carnegie Hall performance. But Rufus’ latest live release—Milwaukee At Last!!! , released this fall—comes equipped with triple exclamation points to indicate just the (over)dosage of Rufus you’ll be getting. The CD issue strips out some of the songs and all the visuals and banter, depriving listeners of at least two of those exclamation points, but Milwaukee DVD director Albert Maysles (of the original Grey Gardens, Gimme Shelter ) piles on the style and Rufus shines through rocket-red lipstick and stories about stripping. Since Milwaukee was cut together from 2007 shows, this Long Beach performance should add another exclamation point or three to the experience—Rufus liver than you’ll ever be and then some.

Sat., Jan. 9, 8 p.m., 2010

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