According to Pitchfork Media, Wainwright "started listening to the Carnegie Hall album in the weeks and months after September 11, craving some cheap showbiz cheer, but wound up discovering something deeper".[9] The subsequent War on Terrorism and invasion of Iraq caused Wainwright to become "traumatized and disillusioned with anything American".[10] Claiming he was reminded of how great "the US used to be",[10] Wainwright said the following of his appreciation for the album during that turbulent time in American history: