Martha Wainwright at the Rio Theatre, Vancouver, March 9 2013. Jess D. Lea photo.

Photos – Martha Wainwright at the Rio Theatre, Vancouver, March 9 2013

– photos by Jess Desaulniers-Lea

Martha Wainwright played the Rio Theatre in Vancouver Saturday night. The singer-songwriter is on tour for her latest album, Come Home to Mama. The album is the follow-up to 2008’s I Know You’re Married But I’ve Got Feelings Too. Wainwright also included songs from the live collection of Edith Piaf songs,  Sans Fusils, Ni Souliers, A Paris she released in 2009.

AroarA, a duo composed of Andrew Whiteman (Broken Social Scene, Apostle of Hustle) and Ariel Engle, opened.

AroarA at the Rio Theatre, Vancouver, March 9 2013. Jess D. Lea photo.

Jess D. Lea, shooting for The Snipe, told us, “Though I’ve heard mostly Martha’s English music, I found that she shone singing Piaf as well as her own French song recorded for the Quebec TV drama Trauma.” The set included “old favourites such as ‘Factory’ off her early demo, and ‘Ball & Chain’ (which she described as a ‘fun song about male genitalia’).”

The last part of her set “included French songs and a cover of the jazz standard ‘Stormy Weather’, which saw her put down her guitar as she swayed with precision in wool socks and a short skirt, as her husband Brad Albetta accompanied her on what she had called (in a country accent) the ‘pian-E’, referring to the out-of-tune piano on the Rio stage. From her knees at the closing of ‘Stormy Weather’ she rose for her the last song of the evening, her single  ‘Proserpina’ off her new record.”

Review and photos – Martha Wainwright at the Commodore Ballroom, Vancouver, March 18 2010

Yuka C. Honda of Cibo Matto produced Come Home to Mama. The album features guest appearances by Wilco‘s Nels Cline, Sean Lennon, and Dirty Three‘s Jim White.

Ariel Engle with AroarA at the Rio Theatre March 9. Jess Desaulniers-Lea photo.