With six LPs under his belt and having proven himself a master of rearrangements, Wolf, aka Patrick Denis Apps, had more than enough material to make his electro-pop folk and baroque chamber music sound new and exciting. Furthermore, 2023 marks 20 years since his debut LP. Patrick could have easily made this concert an album anniversary show. Instead, he used it to show that he still had plenty of creative fuel in the tank and demonstrate his ongoing personal recovery.
With only three songs performed from his 2003 lycanthropy album and the six songs from his two 2023 releases, The Night Safari EP and his new single “Penzance,” he allowed himself to be completely open to scrutiny, making it impossible for any mistakes to have a space to run to, much less hide. The first four songs were Patrick on piano, which included a pure sound, stripped down version of “The Libertine” and a euphoric rendition of “Land's End.”, a Wolf's B-side Wind in the cables EP.
When Wolf stood up to play acoustic guitar (he's over six feet tall), his wardrobe demonstrated how one can look androgynously fashionable and candid without having an agenda or social media reshare in mind. The first guitar song, “Idumea,” and the second of their new 2023 songs to be performed, embraced the best of Seth Lakeman’s “King and Country” and Noah and the Whale’s “LIFEGOESON.”
Wolf then presented Earth with his synths that he had had since 2007, which were almost out of this world, but thanks to Patrick's determination (finding someone skilled enough to repair them), they began circulating for the first time, starting with ” Nowhere Game”. The next song, “Teignmouth”, enthralled Wolf and the audience. It wasn't so much because “Teignmouth” is a fan or Wolf favorite, but because it was the first song of the night in which the artist reunited with his first love, the viola.
Like the genius Nikola Tesla, Wolf appreciates pigeons, so much so that he wrote a song in their honor, which was his debut LP. The plucking of the strings, the urgency, the unexpected tempo changes and the emotion at the end when Wolf sang: “Where is my house, dove, do you know?” It made an already euphoric crowd feel melancholy.
While Wolf appeared calm and exercised the crowd with subtle innuendos and jokes, Patrick's fascinating overall appeal was his sincerity and ability to engage the audience with instruments largely discarded and overlooked by other artists, such as the Irish whistle and recorder. Additionally, since this show took place just days before Christmas, Patrick showed a sense of occasion by playing a song dedicated to the winter solstice called “Time of Year.”
The audience forgave Patrick for starting twenty minutes later than planned because he put on a fantastic two-hour show with Nikola Tesla across the spectrum of his career, confirming that the best was yet to come. Wolf's only fault was pointing out his minor hiccups whenever he rarely missed or played a wrong note, something he had caught before the audience had a chance to do so. He even abandoned a song midway because he was not satisfied with his performance.
This show sold out, and the reason so many more sold out is not solely out of loyalty or compassion for someone who passed their peak and relapsed. It is out of admiration for an artist who has found new ways to continue flourishing.
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