Lior, Gossling, Tom Kline @The Corner Hotel, Melbourne(30/10/2010)

Sun 7th Nov, 2010 in Gig Reviews

Upon entering The Corner Hotel in Richmond this past Saturday night, one could be forgiven for thinking that they had been washed into a library on the sacred grounds of a mute nunnery, as Tom Kline opened the evening for Lior.

Pulling Away was performed first and Kline had the audience from the first note. His beautifully haunting sound resonated, leaving the audience stunned, silenced and unsure what to expect next from the singer, songwriter and muli-instrumentalist.
It is hard not to gush over Kline as a reviewer and in future, I will need to learn to be more critical, because Kline has raised the bar. Rarely is such talent portrayed in a support act and it is fair to say that generally at shows, people chatter amongst themselves, order drinks without care and glance up every now and again at supports, but not with Kline. Few dared to turn even to kiss their loved one on the cheek, fewer dared to order a drink and those that did, did so in hushed, guilty whispers.

The Cure was a particularly noteworthy, among other songs played like My Stage, Silence is Golden and Apparition. Unbelievable it is that this bombshell is not (yet) a big time crooner, but a country bumpkin from Milawa, northeast Victoria. “Tonight I have business cards in lieu of a record,” he joked, although he is currently working with producer Francois Tetaz (Architecture in Helsinki Lior, Goyte) on his debut album, which will be released in the not too distant future. But for now, he is doing his time in Melbourne’s pubs, bars and venues.

That was not the last time we would see Tom Kline for the night though, who looked a prettier version of Kurt Cobain, in his oversized white Tee, with mousy shoulder length blonde hair and pretty eyes. He appeared throughout the evening, as back up vocalist for both the next support act, Gossling, and the headliner, Lior.

Young, pretty and cute as a button was 27-year-old Gossling, ( Helen Croome ) who was up next. She performed a duet with Cello player, Anita Quayle, who is a member of Gosling’s band, although she often performs solo as well as with her full band, at venues such as The Espy, The Empress, Veludo, and the Northcote Social Club.

She had audiences laughing along with her as she chattered away about bush turkeys and did an impersonation of how her mother would sound, if Gosling had photos taken with her hair in her eyes. “Can you make sure my hair is off my face, or my mum will kill me,” she requested of FasterLouder photographer Anna Kanci , in a husky voice that can be likened to that of Julia Stone.

Country air must do it to these people, as Gosling is also a country soul, being born in Tasmania and growing up Albury/Wodonga. Songs played included Hazard, Days are Over and He knows my Love. Notable was Days Are Over , which Triple J started playing about a year ago; “people thought it was Sarah Blasko or Lisa Mitchell, but it wasn’t… It was me,” she said, leaving the audience laughing.

In a post show interview Gossling admitted to being nervous and said it was a good thing “If I don’t get nervous I play badly. I need the adrenaline running through my veins to perform well.” It was this that serves as my only criticism, as at one point it was hard not to feel for Croome as was visibly nervous, touching her hair and face and fiddling with her dress. But the rest of the audience didn’t seem to notice, too engrossed in her music and laughed away with her between song chatter. Gossling has the ability to be the girl that everyone knows. She’s daggy like your sister, gorgeous like your best friend and has that innocence of the girl you went to primary school with, yet have not seen for years. “It was my dream to play at the Corner…and now I’m playing at the Corner,” she said, once again making the audience laugh in an intimate performance.

Her last song, The Only Way saw Kline return to sing on backing vocals. It was a beautiful way to end her set; one which improved as it progressed and her nerves subsided.

Lior causally walked on stage, guitar in hand and his eyes sparkled as he shone a smile to fans. After the first song, Lior recalled his first gig in Melbourne at Bar One. The show was just after he released his first album, where he played to “an empty room of diehard fans,” about 12 of them who knew all the lyrics, a far cry from the sold out Corner.

Lior and the band- consisting of Cameron Deyell on electric guitar, Jonathan “Sparkles” Zion on keyboard, backup vocals and percussion, Brett Hirst on bass and Michael Iveson on drums, with Tom Kline popping up again on backing vocals- mostly played songs from most recent release, Tumbling into the Dawn.

One of the set’s real highlights came with This Old Love, which was dedicated to Jane and Neil, parents of a friend of Lior’s. “They were high school sweethearts who found each other late in life,” Lior read quirkily from a text message, “who are finally getting married and will be walking down the aisle to This Old Love,” a segue that fans swooned over.

The previous night the band played a show in Hepburn Springs, where Lior reached out to the audience for someone to fill the harmony part normally contributed by Sia in I’ll forget you in time. Juli Robinsom was the brave lady to put up her hand, had apparently done a great job and just so happened that she would also be at the Melbourne show, so Lior invited her back to the stage. After a slight time lag, between invitation and actually clambering up on stage, Lior’s face relaxed after showing slight anxiety thinking that “perhaps she had chickened out.” She sang her part and left the audience humbled and jealous. Lior said in a post show interview that Juli was grateful for the experience and was inundated with people congratulating her and wanting to by her drinks.

The show greatly incorporated each member of the band with light-hearted banter, laughter-filled segues and anecdotes from Lior’s recent life. Lior also made reference quite often to his support acts, which meant that the evening was nicely woven together and balanced.

‘Sparkles’ Zion sat at his keyboard and often giggled at Lior, Deyell played memorable guitar solos, not bad for a left hander whose dad told him to preserver with his right hand as a child, now playing along side Lior. Drummer Michael Iveson orchestrated the band, while bassist Brett Hirst was confident and cool.

After the show, Lior met fans and signed merchandise to a long line of fans, as Tom Kline and Gossling mingled and chatted to fans and friends. A pleasing end to an intimate and ultimately, highly enjoyable show.

CHECK OUT PHOTOS FROM THE NIGHT HERE