 So what has Everyman singer songwriter Loudon Wainwright III been up
to lately? For a start, he has appeared as an obstetrician/gynecologist
who misses the birth of his patient's baby in this summer's hit movie
Knocked Up. He also appeared recently as a priest in The 40-year-old virgin. He
collaborated with Joe Henry on the soundtrack for Knocked Up, the
fruits of which have been released as Strange Weirdos: Music From and
Inspired by ‘Knocked Up'. TICKET ADVISORY: A LIMITED SUPPLY OF RESERVED PREMIUM SEATING STILL AVAILABLE FROM TICKETWEB (SEATS IN ROW 5), AND FROM THE CEDAR TICKETLINE 612-338-2674 EXT 2 (SEATS IN ROWS 3 AND 4).
As Knocked Up director Judd Apatow comments on Loudon: "One minute he
can be comedic and the next painfully heartbreaking. He's encouraged me
to go as far as I can go truth-wise in my screenwriting, to give the
material a funny, sardonic edge. He certainly sees the humor in the
tragedy of trying to live your life... Loudon is one of the great
national treasures most people aren't aware of, so for me, it's very
exciting to do something that exposes his work to a larger audience.
Loudon's work is a powerful reminder to me that I must always be
honest, funny and true to myself." Opening the show, and perhaps performing the odd duet with Loudon, will be Loudon's daughter with Suzzy Roche, Lucy Wainwright Roche! Described by the New York Times as having the best qualities of both
her parents and a voice “clear as a bell”, Lucy is alarmingly straightforward
and unadorned. After several years performing backup vocals for brother Rufus, she appears poised to tackle her own solo singing career. CITY PAGES A-LIST PICK: "A brilliantly twisted songwriter whose brutal honesty is more like a 2x4 to the forehead than a rapier thrust between the ribs, Loudon Wainwright III slathers his acerbic wit over every sacred cow—or in his case, skunk—he can find, and leaves them rotting in the middle of the road, stinkin' to high heaven. That he's often the victim—er, subject—of his own scathing insights makes them all the more delicious, and that much harder for the rest of us to deny when we fall under his purview. Like "Doin' the Math" from his new Strange Weirdos (Concord), about the grim realities of the aging process: "Doin' the math don't bring satisfaction/There's no more addition, now it's all subtraction." Weirdos' songs were written for or inspired by the summer film Knocked Up, in which Wainwright played a gynecologist. Joe Henry helped with the instrumental score, co-produced, and co-wrote a couple of tunes. But the rest is pure Loudon, although a bit sweeter than he usually is, given the nature of romantic comedy. Still, there's "Lullaby": "Shut your mouth and button your lip/You're a late-night faucet that's got a drip." Which may be the way he once tried to soothe Lucy Wainwright Roche, his daughter with Suzzy Roche. Just launching a career of her own, Lucy will open the show and may do a few duets with dear old dad. "— Rick Mason, City Pages |
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