Cindy Lee's 'Diamond Jubilee' is a surprise sensation. Their Milwaukee concert was better.

Remember when a music review mattered?

I know this is a provocative statement from a professional music reviewer — and, no, I'm not having a midlife crisis. I firmly believe that music criticism very much matters.

But to clarify, there was a time, up until sometime in the 2010s, when a single prominent and exuberant review could change a little-known musician's life. Take Wisconsin's most accomplished recent artist, Bon Iver. You can make a case that much of what Justin Vernon has achieved may not have been possible without Pitchfork's praise of "For Emma, Forever Ago."

These days, breakout-music discovery comes from a wave of critical accolades (Exhibit A, The Last Dinner Party), or, more often, widespread streaming on TikTok, YouTube or Spotify.

Which makes what's happened to Cindy Lee — the drag persona of Patrick Flegel, formerly of Women, the Canadian post-punk band — such an interesting anomaly. They came to Milwaukee's Cactus Club Friday night for what turned out to be a sold-out show — something probably Lee themself didn't expect when tickets went on sale in February.

Effectively drawing from a wide tapestry of styles — the dreamy bubblegum pop of '50s girl groups, the shimmer of Motown, guitar-feedback-soaked early-aughts indie rock and more -—Lee's certainly had their fair share of fringe admirers across their discography. Their latest release, March's double album "Diamond Jubilee," was seemingly designed for them. It was certainly distributed just for them. The self-released album isn't on Spotify or even Bandcamp — Lee has some rather pointed criticism on their early Internet-style website of Spotify CEO Daniel Ek. Instead, fans can stream it as a whole via a YouTube video or download it from their throwback GeoCities site (remember those days?), with a donation requested.

And yet, despite these "limitations" defying most music distribution in 2024, "Diamond Jubilee" has been discovered in a big way. Last month, Pitchfork reviewed "Diamond Jubilee," giving it a 9.1 — the highest score on the site in four years — and proclaimed it "an essential trove of music." Within a week of that review going online — in turn, sparking further coverage by GQ, Uproxx, Stereogum, the New York Times' Popcast and elsewhere — all of the tickets for the Cactus Club show were gone.

Lee no doubt is aware of this sudden turn of events, but they didn't display any sort of reaction on stage in Milwaukee Friday. There was very little banter besides some song title mentions and quick thank-yous; that helped keep the 13-song set, with Lee primarily performing over backing tracks, to a brisk 45 minutes. By contrast, "Diamond Jubilee" is over two hours long.

And yet Lee's concert was even more engrossing, and impactful, then their gorgeous album.

The hypnotic nature of the music was manifested in Lee's precise and reserved stage presence. For Milwaukee, they dolled themself up — poised mod black wig, red sequined dress, white-faux fur jacket, tiny clutch bag draped around their shoulder, lush lashes and smoky, shimmering eye shadow — and put that same mindfulness to each movement.

Lee's hands cupped around their ears in response to the echo of ethereal prerecorded backing vocals on "If You Hear Me Crying," their hands otherwise kept firmly at their sides, curled and stiff, like eagle's talons, with some slight release with sparse snaps of their fingers.

Whenever they cruised the tiny stage in their faded off-white New Balance sneakers, their feet would cross one behind the other, with the suave grace of a pampered cat. Frequently, when they pulled out their guitar, they wouldn't hold it against their chest so much as present it in front of them, almost like a medieval shield.

And their facial expressions remained icy but magnetic throughout nearly every moment of every song, with Lee offering just the very slight curl of a quarter-smile at the end of some songs.

Experiencing the force of "Diamond Jubilee" with full live instrumentation — Lee played every instrument on the album — would have been ideal, if it wouldn't have been so devastating for the bottom line. But what Lee was able to offer live — their vocals, and especially their glorious guitar work — was exemplary.

Their soft falsetto, contrasted with stiff facial expressions, enhanced the dreamlike nature of Lee's music, slyly heightened the arresting ambiguity.

"When the tears are falling, I just keep rolling," they sang Friday on "Always Dreaming" — but not with hopeful confidence, nor, for that matter, a devastated delivery. Instead, Lee's voice remained pretty but cool, and they held back any assurance from a smile and resisted signaling inner turmoil through haunted eyes.

Have they persevered over the sadness? Are they lying to themselves and succumbing to it? In the end, it's in the eye of the beholder, but watching Lee on that stage, there was no definitive certainty to their emotional state, which made it all the more compelling.

But when it comes to Lee's guitar work, there's no dispute — they are an absolute master. From dreamy '60s pop melodies to alien feedback stabs, Lee enhanced every song with finesse, their face still firm as stone even when their instrument traveled through the lush melodies of "Baby Blue" or the snarling distortion of "Demon (Expletive)."

And then for the final three songs, Lee abandoned the backing tracks entirely, most memorably for show closer "Cat 'O Nine Tails III," one of the few songs in the night's setlist not from "Diamond Jubilee" Friday. For the climactic instrumental, Lee's guitar nimbly flowed from shimmering, surf-rock grooves, to nightmarish post-punk brittleness, to note-cascading Spanish-style dazzle.

When the last note echoed out, and Lee, sitting on a stool, posed with their head down and arm jutted out toward the crowd, they were received with something more striking than cheers and claps. Instead, the room was filled with an awed hush.

Honestly, I'm not sure any review could fully do that moment justice.

5 takeaways from Cindy Lee's Cactus Club concert in Milwaukee

• All the acclaim suggests this could be the beginning of an exciting new chapter for Cindy Lee — but it could be the last one. Before the wave of press, Lee promoted the tour on their website as their farewell. There was no mention of that Friday, and certainly the circumstances could change their plans. But if this album and these shows truly are the end of that persona, what a way to go out.

• Musically, Cindy Lee's opener, fellow Canadians and past collaborators Freak Heat Waves, are decidedly different, their sound leaning more into trip-hop, '80s techno and other throwback electronic styles. But like Lee, Frank Heat Waves' chilled music washes over you and is completely absorbing, as a whole, and especially in parts — like when drum snaps echoed like the sound of thunder bouncing off a mountain, or when Lee, near set's end, supplied haunted, ethereal vocals and measured, impactful guitar licks.

• Some shows you get a high five from the artists if they come through the crowd. But in the tight and crowded confines of the Cactus Club, I had my toes accidentally stepped on by one of the members of Freak Heat Waves. Even though they had a job to do, they offered an apology as they made their way to the stage. (Accepted, of course.)

• This was a pretty late show, with a 10 p.m. start time (there was one earlier in the day at Cactus Club), but it actually started much later than that: Freak Heat Waves took the stage at 10:50 p.m. That's a long time to wait in a crowded, small hot room, and understandably, I saw one fan seated in the club starting to nod off.

• Below you'll see the complete setlist, but I'm frustrated to report that there's one song I couldn't identify. Some of the lyrics Lee sang included "closer to me," "I am so much older than I seem" and "I'm not blind." At least that's what I discerned. If there's a Cindy Lee superfan out there who knows which track this was, I'm dying to know, so please send me an email. (Update: A Cindy Lee fan, Jonathan Chow, did reach out to let me know the song in question was an early career track, "Holding The Devil's Hand." Many thanks!)

Cindy Lee's Cactus Club setlist

1. "In a Moment Divine" (with Freak Heat Waves)

2. "Dracula"

3. "Always Dreaming"

4. "Wild One"

5. "Baby Blue"

6. "If You Hear Me Crying"

7. "Darling of the Diskoteque"

8. "Demon (Expletive)"

9. "Deepest Blue"

10. "What's It Going to Take"

11. "Holding The Devil's Hand"

12. "Angel Eyes"

13. "Cat O' Nine Tails III"

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Cindy Lee's album is a sensation. Their Milwaukee concert was better.