Having seen Patrick Wolf’s last show in Melbourne, just after his third album The Magic Position, I was expecting a brightly coloured, yet morose, character to appear. The album was supposed to be his ode to joy, yet he had still walked off in a huff and came across as anything but joyous. I was interested to see how tonight would be.

The glittered and costumed kids were getting impatient as it neared the thirty-minute late mark, when finally his band appeared on stage. Wolf burst on stage shortly after with a flowing mane covering thin leather bondage chest-straps, and warmed up with the song Oblivion off his newest offering _The Bachelor. He quickly followed this with a slower tune that allowed both him, and the crowd, to settle in.

The first three songs allowed Wolf to display his musical talents on guitar, piano and violin. His vocal flexibility was also on display with his soaring highs and gravelly lows. It was also apparent quite quickly that the man who stood before us was dramatically different. He was happy. He was visibly enjoying himself and through the banter he shared with the crowd he made it quite clear that this year had been a very happy time for him. Fortunately, this did not take away any of the bitterness, anguish or venom needed for such intensely emotional songs such as The Childcatcher.

One punter was lucky enough to have Wolf’s thighs wrapped around his face before being slammed against the ground as the singer fell off stage and onto him. This then led to a crowd romp while Wolf sang Count of Casualty. After this he ran backstage for a quick costume change while the crowd were enveloped in an electro-synth vortex. He came back on and told everyone that he was going to play until they kicked him off stage, as it was the last show of his tour. After playing The Libertine, off his 2005 album Wind In The Wires, Wolf also let us know that the set list had been thrown out the window, which would explain the whisperings to his band at the end of almost every song.

After finishing a set of about 16 tunes with the wonderfully feelgood Magic Position, it was time for the encore. He played an older tune Bloodbeat, one of my favourites off his debut Lycanthropy and then followed by adorning a feathered cape and singing Vulture, the initial single off his latest LP. The crowd were left a little confused as he finished off the set with a new song called Wild Life which sounded a little like a bad Roisin Murphy tune. When he told the crowd he was about to head to L.A. to meet with Britney and Shakira’s people, it was hard to tell if he was lying or not. He explained he was keeping the producer of this newest tune hush hush, as he didn’t want anyone stealing them…

Overall, Wolf’s set was long and varied, with only a few low points, but not enough stellar points. Maybe the happiness has affected his performance, but he still put in a good effort over the two-hour set. The crowd were left with the promise of a return next year. I can’t help but wonder just how different this master of metamorphosis will be then…only time will tell.

CHECK OUT THE PHOTOS FROM THE GIG HERE