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Dunstan
Playhouse. 16th June 2017
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens OAM
“When he
came on stage he was not much to look at” is a quote from an early critique of
one of Lior’s early concerts, from a critic who had not seen Lior perform
previously. Lior shared this quote with his audience at this performance, declaring that he doesn’t read
critics.
This information was rather freeing, because like that critic, I’m
among those who had previously never experienced Lior in concert. However,
unlike that critic, I had seen him perform the role of the Jewish tailor,
Motel, in the Anthony Warlow iteration of the musical “Fiddler on the Roof” so
was prepared for his appearance, which is actually rather pleasant, as is his
onstage personality.
Sharing the
stage with the Australian String Quarter, which provided exquisite accompaniments,
Lior held the capacity audience in thrall as he worked through his song
catalogue, intriguingly, changing to a different guitar for each song. Is this
an affectation, or is he thinking of the fortune he’ll make selling off these
guitars when inevitably he becomes an international superstar?
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| The Australian String Quartet |
Lior is a
fine guitarist and a gifted singer with a pure, sweet angelic voice. His songs,
sensibly, exploit these talents. “Gypsy
Girl”, “I’ll Forget You”, “Building Ships” and “This Old Love” all display his
talent for writing haunting lyrics for his beautiful melodies. “My Grandfather”
mines potent familial recollections in a similar way to Peter Allen’s
“Tenterfield Saddler”, while “Bedouin Song”, which he proudly announced, is the
only song to have been featured on Triple J, ABC FM and Australian Idol, demonstrates
his success in writing cross-genre songs which appeal to a wide audience.
Not all the
program was confined to Lior’s songs however, and early in he featured his
cover of Radiohead’s “No Surprises”, the title of which was contradicted by the
inclusion of a mesmerising performance by the Australian String Quartet of a
Phillip Glass composition, and his concluding offering, the stunning opening
song “Sim Shalom (Grant Peace)”, from
Nigel Westlake’s orchestral song cycle “Compassion” rescored by Westlake specially for Lior and the
Australian String Quartet to perform in this superb concert.
This review first published in AUSTRALIAN ARTS REVIEW. www.artsreview.com.au
