Rufus Wainwright at Valley Performing Arts Center

Rufus Wainwright is a virtuoso ironist, and he came right out of the gate with it at a recent Orpheum show. For the a cappella opener “Candles,” he sang, “I tried to do all that I can, but the churches have run out of candles,” while surrounded by dozens of lighted votives. When the lights kicked on, Wainwright was wearing gold pants and cheap sunglasses befitting a Serbian drug runner. Try as he might, be can’t be austere for too long without winking. Wainwright’s new Mark Ronson-produced album, “Out of the Game,” was welcomed as a warm and spritzy return to form after a long stretch of operatic and quite serious records. Valley Performing Arts Center, 18111 Nordhoff St., Northridge. 8 p.m. Sat. $25-$85. valleyperformingartscenter.org.