Out of the Game Tour

The Out of the Game Tour was a concert tour by singer-songwriter Rufus Wainwright. The tour supports his seventh studio album, Out of the Game. Beginning in April 2012, the tour has played over 100 shows in the Americas, Asia, Europe and Australasia.

Out of the Game Tour

Tour by Rufus Wainwright
Promotional poster for the tour
Associated album	Out of the Game
Start date	April 23, 2012 (2012-04-23)
End date	November 2, 2013 (2013-11-02)
Legs	10
No. of shows	62 in Europe 64 in North America 6 in Asia 9 in Australasia 4 in South America 145 total
Rufus Wainwright concert chronology

Background

The tour was announced on Wainwright's official website, coinciding with the singer's album release. Behind the scenes, Wainwright married his long-term partner Jörn Weisbrodt while the singer had a break in his tour schedule.^[1] Wainwright explained his personal life would not only reflect in the album but also the tour.^[2] The singer continued to say that he would be touring less in the forthcoming years, while concentrating on being a parent.^[3]

The tour began with two rehearsal shows at Under the Bridge,^[4] a nightclub located within Stamford Bridge in London. The tour officially kicked off in Denmark. Some of the tour dates in Europe included festival appearances at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Melt! festival and the North Sea Jazz Festival.

Opening acts

• Teddy Thompson (Europe—select dates) (New York City, Los Angeles, Melbourne— September 16)^[5]
• Krystle Warren (Europe—select dates) (Oakland, San Diego, Melbourne—September 15)^[5]
• Adam Cohen (North America—select dates)^[5]
• Megan Washington (Australia)^[6]
• Ingrid Michaelson (Vienna, Boston, Nashville)^[5]
• Lucy Wainwright Roche (Nashville)^[5]

Setlist

North America^[7][8]

May 9, 2012 – New York City, NY – Howard Gilman Opera House

1. "Candles"
2. "Rashida"
3. "Barbara"
4. "Welcome to the Ball"
5. "Song of You"
6. "Greek Song"
7. "April Fools"
8. "The One You Love"
9. "Saratoga Summer Song" (performed by Teddy Thompson)
10. "I Don't Know" (performed by Krystle Warren)
11. "Respectable Dive"
12. "Out of the Game"
13. "Jericho"
14. "Sometimes You Need"
15. "Perfect Man"
16. "One Man Guy" (performed with Charysse Blackman and Teddy Thompson)
17. "Going to a Town"
18. "Montauk"
19. "14th Street"
20. "The Art Teacher"
21. "Tell My Sister" (performed by Martha Wainwright)
22. "Bitter Tears"

Encore

23. "Poses"

August 8, 2012 – Chicago, IL – The Vic Theatre

1. "Candles"
2. "Rashida"
3. "Barbara"
4. "April Fools"
5. "Song of You"
6. "The One You Love"
7. "Saratoga Summer Song" (performed by Teddy Thompson)
8. "I Don't Know" (performed by Krystle Warren)
9. "Respectable Dive"
10. "Out of the Game"
11. "Jericho"
12. "Perfect Man"
13. "The Man that Got Away"
14. "One Man Guy" (performed with Charysse Blackman and Teddy Thompson)
15. "The Art Teacher"
16. "Going to a Town"
17. "Montauk"
18. "14th Street"
19. "Bitter Tears"

Encore

23. "Grey Gardens"
24. "Chelsea Hotel #2" (performed with Adam Cohen)
25. "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk"
26. "Poses"

April 13, 2013 – Saint Paul, MN – Fitzgerald Theater

1. "The Art Teacher"
2. "The Maker Makes"
3. "Vibrate"
4. "Out of the Game"
5. "Jericho"
6. "Who Are You New York?"
7. "Memphis Skyline"
8. "Hallelujah"

Intermission

1. "Going to a Town"
2. "Montauk"
3. "Zebulon"
4. "Cigarettes and Chocolate Milk"

Encore

13. "Millbrook"
14. "Walking Song"
15. "Complainte de la Butte"
16. "Foolish Love"

Tour dates

Date	City	Country	Venue
Europe[9][10]
April 23, 2012	Copenhagen	Denmark	Falconer Salen
April 25, 2012	Berlin	Germany	Konzertsaal der Udk
April 27, 2012	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Melkweg Rabozaal
April 29, 2012[A]	London	England	indigO2
April 30, 2012			Lyceum Theatre
May 2, 2012	Paris	France	La Cigale
May 4, 2012	Granada	Spain	Auditorio del Generalife
North America[9][10][11]
May 9, 2012	New York City	United States	Howard Gilman Opera House
May 11, 2012	Oakland		Fox Oakland Theatre
May 12, 2012	Los Angeles		Orpheum Theatre
May 13, 2012	San Diego		Humphrey's by the Bay
Europe[9][10]
June 1, 2012[B]	Barcelona	Spain	Parc del Fòrum
Asia[10][11]
June 3, 2012	Yakum	Israel	Ronit Farm Amphitheater
June 4, 2012	Tel Aviv		Reading 3
Europe[9][10][11]
June 6, 2012	A Coruña	Spain	Palacio de la Ópera
June 8, 2012[C]	Porto	Portugal	Parque da Cidade do Porto
North America[10][11]
June 10, 2012[D]	Toronto	Canada	Pecaut Square
June 15, 2012[E]			Massey Hall
June 28, 2012[F]	Montreal		Quartier des Spectacles
June 30, 2012	Ann Arbor	United States	Power Center for the Performing Arts
July 1, 2012	Grand Rapids Charter Township		Meijer Gardens Amphitheater
Europe[10][11]
July 5, 2012[G]	Montreux	Switzerland	Miles Davis Hall
July 6, 2012	Vienna	Austria	Vienna State Opera House
July 7, 2012[H]	Rotterdam	Netherlands	Rotterdam Ahoy
July 8, 2012[I]	Liège	Belgium	Parc Reine Astrid
July 12, 2012[J]	Ostrava	Czech Republic	Dolní oblast Vítkovice
July 13, 2012[K]	Gräfenhainichen	Germany	Ferropolis
July 15, 2012[KA]	Beccles	England	Henham Park
July 16, 2012	Bath		The Forum
July 18, 2012	Dublin	Ireland	Iveagh Gardens
July 20, 2012	Venice	Italy	Teatro Verde
North America[10][11]
July 24, 2012	Vienna	United States	Filene Center
July 27, 2012	Purchase		The Performing Arts Center at Purchase
July 28, 2012	Westhampton Beach		Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center
July 29, 2012	Boston		Bank of America Pavilion
July 31, 2012	Portland		State Theatre
August 1, 2012[L]	South Burlington		Higher Ground
August 3, 2012	Cleveland		House of Blues
August 4, 2012	Munhall		Carnegie Library Music Hall
August 5, 2012	Louisville		Iroquois Amphitheatre
August 7, 2012	Bloomington		Buskirk-Chumley Theater
August 8, 2012	Chicago		The Vic Theatre
August 10, 2012	Milwaukee		Pabst Theater
August 11, 2012	Apple Valley		Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater
August 26, 2012[M]	East Hampton		Guild Hall
Australasia[10][12][13]
September 8, 2012	Canberra	Australia	Canberra Theatre
September 9, 2012	Sydney		Sydney Opera House
September 12, 2012[N]	Brisbane		QPAC Concert Hall
September 15, 2012	Melbourne		Hamer Hall
September 17, 2012	Adelaide		Her Majesty's Theatre
September 19, 2012	Perth		Riverside Theatre
September 21, 2012	Auckland	New Zealand	Auckland Civic Theatre
North America[10]
September 28, 2012	Big Sur	United States	Henry Miller Memorial Library
October 1, 2012	Seattle		Benaroya Hall
October 2, 2012	Vancouver	Canada	Orpheum Theatre
October 4, 2012	Arcata	United States	Van Duzer Theatre
October 9, 2012	Isla Vista		UCSB Campbell Hall
October 11, 2012	Riverside		Riverside Fox Theater
October 13, 2012[O]	Austin		Zilker Metropolitan Park
October 14, 2012	Dallas		Meyerson Symphony Center
October 15, 2012	Houston		Bayou Music Center
October 18, 2012	Conway		Reynolds Performance Hall
October 19, 2012	Nashville		Ryman Auditorium
October 20, 2012	Atlanta		The Tabernacle
October 22, 2012	Durham		Carolina Theatre
October 23, 2012	York		Pullo Center
October 24, 2012	Portsmouth		The Music Hall
October 26, 2012	Montreal	Canada	Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church
October 27, 2012	Quebec City		Salle Albert-Rousseau
October 28, 2012	Saguenay		Théâtre du Palais Municipal
Europe[10][14][15]
November 13, 2012	Dublin	Ireland	Vicar Street
November 14, 2012	Belfast	Northern Ireland	Ulster Hall
November 16, 2012	Oxford	England	New Theatre Oxford
November 17, 2012	Birmingham		Symphony Hall
November 18, 2012	London		Hammersmith Apollo
November 20, 2012	Nottingham		Nottingham Royal Concert Hall
November 21, 2012	York		Barbican Centre
November 23, 2012	Bristol		Colston Hall
November 24, 2012	Brighton		Brighton Dome
November 25, 2012	Amsterdam	Netherlands	Heineken Music Hall
November 27, 2012	Brussels	Belgium	Ancienne Belgique
November 28, 2012	Hamburg	Germany	Laeiszhalle
November 29, 2012	Randers	Denmark	Værket
December 1, 2012	Stockholm	Sweden	Berns Salonger
December 2, 2012	Oslo	Norway	Sentrum Scene
December 3, 2012	Gothenburg	Sweden	Restaurang Trädgårn
December 5, 2012	Frankfurt	Germany	Gibson Club
December 7, 2012	San Sebastián	Spain	Auditorio Kursaal
December 8, 2012	Madrid		Sala La Riviera
December 10, 2012	Paris	France	Folies Bergère
December 11, 2012	Manchester	England	O2 Apollo Manchester
December 13, 2012	Edinburgh	Scotland	Usher Hall
December 14, 2012	Glasgow		O2 Academy Glasgow
North America[16]
February 6, 2013	Princeton	United States	McCarter Theatre
February 8, 2013	Atlantic City		Borgata Music Box
February 12, 2013	Washington, D.C.		9:30 Club
Asia[16]
March 16, 2013	Seoul	South Korea	Uniqlo AX
March 18, 2013	Osaka	Japan	Matsushita IMP Hall
March 19, 2013	Tokyo		Shibuya Public Hall
March 21, 2013[P]	Central Area	Singapore	Fort Canning
Australia[16]
March 24, 2013[Q]	Fremantle	Australia	Fremantle Park
April 1, 2013[R]	Byron Bay		Tyagarah Tea Tree Farm
North America[17]
April 11, 2013	Milwaukee	United States	Pabst Theater
April 13, 2013[S]	Saint Paul		Fitzgerald Theater
April 14, 2013	Chicago		Maurer Hall
April 18, 2013	Bay Shore		YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts
April 21, 2013[T]	Philadelphia		Verizon Hall
April 23, 2013[U]	Toronto	Canada	Koerner Hall
May 7, 2013	Mexico City	Mexico	Auditorio Blackberry
South America[17]
May 9, 2013	São Paulo	Brazil	HSBC Brasil
May 10, 2013	Porto Alegre		Teatro do Bourbon Country
May 13, 2013	Santiago	Chile	Teatro Nescafe de les Artes
May 15, 2013	Buenos Aires	Argentina	Teatro Gran Rex
Europe[16][17]
May 23, 2013	Norrköping	Sweden	Louis De Geer
May 31, 2013	The Hague	Netherlands	Dr. Anton Philipszaal
June 1, 2013
June 2, 2013[V]	Dresden	Germany	Albertinum Inner Courtyard
North America[16][17]
June 8, 2013	Los Angeles	United States	Valley Performing Arts Center
June 9, 2013	San Francisco		Davies Symphony Hall
June 13, 2013	Fort Worth		Bass Performance Hall
Europe[18]
June 30, 2013[W]	Pilton	England	Worthy Farm
July 1, 2013	Liverpool		Liverpool Philharmonic Hall
July 3, 2013	Leicester		De Montfort Hall
July 5, 2013[X]	Barcelona	Spain	Parc del Fòrum
July 6, 2013	Antwerp	Belgium	Openluchttheater Rivierenhof
July 7, 2013	Eindhoven	Netherlands	Muziekgebouw Frits Philips Eindhoven
July 10, 2013[Y]	Lyon	France	Théatre Odéon Antique de Lyon
July 11, 2013	Copenhagen	Denmark	Tivolis Koncertsal
July 13, 2013[Z]	Riehen	Switzerland	Wenkenhof
July 16, 2013[AA]	La Rochelle	France	La Coursive Grand Théâtre
July 22, 2013	Madrid	Spain	Teatro Real
July 25, 2013[AB]	São Julião da Barra	Portugal	Jardins do Marquês de Pombal
July 26, 2013[AC]	Dubrovnik	Croatia	Revelin Fort Terrace
July 28, 2013[AD]	Verbier	Switzerland	Eglise de Verbier
North America[19]
October 4, 2013	Tarrytown	United States	Tarrytown Music Hall
October 6, 2013	Morristown		Mayo Performing Arts Center
October 11, 2013	Toronto	Canada	Roy Thomson Hall
Europe[18]
October 21, 2013[AE]	Prague	Czech Republic	Estates Theatre
North America[19]
October 24, 2013	Medford	United States	Craterian Theatre at the Collier Center
October 25, 2013	Eugene		Jaqua Concert Hall
October 26, 2013	Portland		Aladdin Theater
October 28, 2013	Edmonds		Edmonds Center for the Arts
October 29, 2013	Olympia		Washington Center for the Performing Arts
October 30, 2013	Tacoma		Pantages Theater
November 2, 2013	Ottawa	Canada	Southam Hall

Festivals and other miscellaneous performances

A This concert was a part of the "Sundance London Music and Film Festival"[20] B This concert was a part of "San Miguel Primavera Sound"[21] C This concert was a part of "Optimus Primavera Sound"[22] D This concert was a part of "Luminato"[23] E This concert was a part of "Love Over and Over: The Songs of Kate McGarrigle"[24] F This concert was a part of the "Festival International de Jazz de Montréal"[25] G This concert was a part of the "Montreux Jazz Festival"[26] H This concert was a part of the "North Sea Jazz Festival"[27] I This concert was a part of "Les Ardentes" J This concert was a part of the "Colours of Ostrava" K This concert was a part of the "Melt! festival"[28] KA This concert was a part of the "Latitude Festival"[29] L This concert was a part of "Concerts on the Green" M This concert was a part of "Salomé Music Festival" N This concert was a part of the "Brisbane Festival"[30] O This concert was a part of the "Austin City Limits Music Festival"[31]

P This concert was a part of "Timbre: Rock & Roots"[32] Q This concert is a part of the "West Coast Blues & Roots Festival"[33] R This concert is a part of the "Byron Bay Bluesfest[34] S This concert was a part of "The Current Sessions"[35] T This concert was a part of the "Philadelphia International Festival of the Arts"[36] U This concert was a part of the "Shakespeare Slam"[37] V This concert is a part of the "Dresden Music Festival"[38] W This concert is a part of the "Glastonbury Festival"[39] X This concert is a part of "Festival Cruïlla"[40] Y This concert is a part of "Nuits de Fourvière"[41] Z This concert is a part of the "Stimmen-Festival"[42] AA This concert is a part of "Les Francofolies de La Rochelle"[43] AB This concert is a part of "EDP Cool Jazz"[44] AC This concert is a part of the "Dubrovnik Summer Festival"[45] AD This concert is a part of the "Verbier Festival"[46] AE This concert is a part of "Struny Podzimu"[47]

Cancellations and rescheduled shows

July 25, 2012	Philadelphia	Festival Pier	Cancelled[48]
August 1, 2012	Shelburne, Vermont	The Green at Shelburne Museum	Moved to Higher Ground in South Burlington, Vermont
October 30, 2012	New York City	Beacon Theatre	Cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy. This concert was a part of the "Freedom To Love Now!".[49]
February 9, 2013	Bay Shore, New York	YMCA Boulton Center for the Performing Arts	Rescheduled for April 18, 2013

Box office score data

Venue	City	Tickets sold / available	Gross revenue
Howard Gilman Opera House	New York City	2,026 / 2,097 (97%)	$115,500[50]
Fox Oakland Theatre	Oakland	1,548 / 1,766 (88%)	$67,740[51]
Canberra Theatre	Canberra	574 / 1,195 (48%)	$68,084[52]
Sydney Opera House	Sydney	1,753 / 2,239 (78%)	$250,516[52]
QPAC Concert Hall	Brisbane	692 / 1,518 (46%)	$81,646[52]
Hamer Hall	Melbourne	2,716 / 4,786 (57%)	$334,283[52]
Her Majesty's Theatre	Adelaide	557 / 1,009 (55%)	$65,557[52]
Riverside Theatre	Perth	634 / 1,118 (57%)	$70,817[52]
Ryman Auditorium	Nashville	1,460 / 2,211 (66%)	$56,670[53]
Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church	Montreal	1,268 / 1,459 (87%)	$88,729[54]
Salle Albert-Rousseau	Quebec City	756 / 900 (84%)	$48,190[54]
Théâtre du Palais Municipal	Saguenay	495 / 620 (80%)	$26,681[54]
9:30 Club	Washington, D.C.	899 / 1200 (75%)	$35,960[55]
Auditorio Blackberry	Mexico City	724 / 2,051 (35%)	$15,855[56]
TOTAL		16,102 / 24,169 (67%)	$1,326,228

Critical reception

The tour was met with mixed reviews from music critics. For the first North American concert in New York City, Jon Pareles (The New York Times), felt the concert was a nice blend of Wainwright current and past songs. He continues to say "At times there was friction between Mr. Wainwright's long melody lines and the shuffle and strut of their settings. But his supposed turn to pop isn’t a drastic change; older songs like 'April Fools' and 'Greek Song' showed he has been in that territory before".^[57]

The show was also praised by Simon Vozick-Levinson (Rolling Stone). He says "But for the most part, this was a night of pure pop joy. Afterward, he took a deep bow, accepted a bouquet from someone in the front rows—his second of the night—and walked offstage with a delighted grin".^[8] For the concert at the Ronit Farm Amphitheater, Rachel Marder (The Jerusalem Post) felt Wainwright channelled Elton John. She writes, "The show felt like a true ensemble performance, with the saxophone-player, clarinetist, drummer and backup singers all taking solos".^[58]

In Louisville, Selna Frye (louisville.com) thinks the singer gave a stellar night of song. She comments, "As entertaining and musically rich as this show was, one primary thing I came away with—and maybe others did too—was an appreciation of Wainwright's unselfishness in giving these other fine artists their moments in the spotlight".^[59] At the Chicago show, Megan Ritt (Consequence of Sound), stated Wainwright was a "consummate performer". She goes on to say "The rarities he played certainly will stick with long-time fans, but the most impressive feature of the show was how the sometimes somber Wainwright appeared to enjoy the experience as much as the audience".^[7] At the Pabst Theatre in Milwaukee, Piet Levy stated, "His gorgeous operatic croon, heard alone, essentially served as the light".^[60]

The concert at the famed Sydney Opera House received a less favorable review. Iain Shedden (The Australian) writes that following a magnificent show, Wainwright ended it like a "high school end-of-term pantomime". He further explains, "The 90 minutes was a near-perfect blend of pop smarts and raw emotion, of which the singer seems to have an unlimited supply. The encore, however, was a horror of such significance, it threatened to undo everything that came before".^[61] At the Vicar Street in Dubin, Lauren Murphy (The Irish Times) gave the show three out of five stars. She writes, "Roving the aisles singing 'Gay Messiah', his intention to entertain is acknowledged—but another two or three songs in place of the pantomime-style silliness would have been more heartily appreciated. It's an unfortunate end to an otherwise stirring show".^[62]

Band

• Keyboard: Andy Burton
• Guitar: Sharief Hobley and Teddy Thompson
• Bass guitar: Brad Albetta
• Drums: Ben Perowsky
• Horns: Tim Ries
• Supporting vocals: Charysse Blackman and Krystle Warren

Source:^[5]