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Lior Flinders Union Tavern, Fri 7 April Lior Attar is rightly proud of his Middle Eastern heritage and this bloodline flowed through the subtle tunes he spun this fine evening. The small, cosy surroundings of the Tavern were ideal for such a night of musical delight, lending a nice comfy vibe. John Woods opened proceedings - one man, sitting on a stool, acoustic guitar in tow. Xavier Rudd/Jack Johnson comparisons don't need to be suggested: he mentioned that for us. Woods is a competent player and what the set lacked in diversity he made up for in banter, making all feel welcome. Lior opened with Autumn Flow, running through most of the LP of the same name. The crowd reciprocated the honesty and warmth that radiated from the stage. To be honest, I too was so captivated and drawn into the experience that some of the nitty-gritty of the musical performance was left at the venue. Grey Ocean, Daniel and Bedouin Song all stood out in terms of technical prowess, but as Lior progressed a cappella through Hebrew Prayer, silence fell over the room. Lior used his voice like a finely tuned instrument - the intonation, pitch and volume variance was spine tingling. Credit must be given where it's due - Lior's band were incredible. No instrument out did the other; together they wove a tapestry of sound. The weaving and wending bass of Brett Hirst underscored some of the jagged electric guitar experiments conducted by Ben Fink. When this meshed together with Lior on acoustic guitar and was carried along by the innovative percussion of Mike Iveson, the results were phenomenal. Crowd participation was encouraged - on one song a collective hum was conducted for Lior to ad-lib over and on another, we took a gander at hand percussion. Every artist has their signature - hence the fevered cheer that greeted the lilting intro to This Old Love - a nice way to end the set. Expect many couples to sit grey-haired together listening to that song in the future. Any hasty-to-leave types missed out on the reward of Building Ships and The Other Side as first encore. The second came to be the fabled 'lighter in the air' moment - a poignant rendition of The Safety Of Distance - tenderly performed with an undercurrent of protest. From my viewpoint (standing on a chair to see over a sea of people), so ended what I hope will be remembered as more than just a night of musical entertainment.  |
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