THE STREET
THEATRE, CANBERRA, 8th June, 2016.
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens.
You don’t
have to be a devotee of either Bob Dylan or Leonard Cohen to appreciate the
respect and admiration for their work that Barb Jungr brings to her remarkable exploration
of their songs. Jungr’s is certainly not a sycophantic fan’s view, but an
insightful, forensic examination into what was in the composer’s minds as they
wrote the songs.
If this
suggests a dry, scholarly evening, nothing could be further from the truth. In fact
the program proved remarkably entertaining, with the audience often rocking
with laughter at Jungr’s no-nonsense asides and observations. But as
entertaining as she is as a raconteur, it is Jungr’s extraordinary voice and
delivery which holds her audience spellbound as she moves through the intricate
rap-like lyrics of Bob Dylan’s It’s
Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding) , with which she commenced the program, to
her remarkable re-working of his Blowin
in the Wind which was her finale. Scattered through the program, other Dylan
inclusions included re-workings of his Things
Have Changed, Masters of War, Times They are A’Changing, Hard Rain and Blind Willie McTell.
Her Leonard
Cohen selections were no less compelling and commenced with a mesmerising
account of his Who By Fire which she
introduced as being a song about death. First We Take Manhattan, Everybody Knows,
The Future were included as well as a really lovely version of A Thousand Kisses Deep.
For her only
Canberra concert, as the opening act in the 2016 Capital Jazz Project, Jungr
was accompanied, superbly, by pianist Mark Fitzgibbon. She will also be appearing in
the Adelaide Cabaret Festival from June 9th – 13th before her
final Australian performances at The Bird's Basement in Melbourne on June 16th and 17th, all part of her 2016 Australian tour.
This review also appears in Australian Arts Review. www.artsreview.com.au