Lior and Domini present Animal In Hiding: The Beauty Of Two Gems Coming Together ~ Adelaide Cabaret Festival 2022 Review

[CABARET ~ ADELAIDE PREMIERE ~ AUS] Dunstan Playhouse, Adelaide Festival Centre, Thu 23 Jun. Lior is very personable on stage, and he clearly enjoys playing in Adelaide. By way of introducing the show he explains that he is here to present his ‘lockdown project’, a collection of songs written and performed with Melbourne folk artist Domini Forster which has been released under the title Animal In Hiding. Comparisons have been made with artists like Simon & Garfunkel, and to show that they are aware and comfortable with that they include a version of S&G’s April Come She Will, to which Domini has added a harmony not present in the original. Tonight has a bit of a workshop feel, with both artists keen to not only perform the songs but also to explain how the project and the songs came into being. Storytelling is what they are about, with the songs but also when chatting to the audience. Lior begins by introducing us to the story that led to the song Gloria, about his reaction to an elderly woman asking him to walk her home. A Ron Sexsmith favourite Imaginary Friends follows, a lovely version despite Lior’s guitar having some tuning issues. Domini relates how they met when Lior was guest artist at a song competition she almost didn’t attend, that after hearing her sing he invited her to be the support for some of his shows, which led them to be singing together, which led them to realise that something special was happening. They collaborated on Where Will We Be, a track for Lior’s most recent album Between You And Me, and this song starts the performance tonight. They had commenced work on other songs, when Melbourne’s interminable lockdown came along, and the project was completed via Zoom. Apart from presenting all six songs from the excellent Animal In Hiding EP, space is given for Domini to present two solo songs – Then You Stop from her Raven album, and an earlier single Accolades from her Little Dreamer EP featuring ukulele. Then it is Lior’s turn to pick up an electric guitar for a bluesy version of Satisfied Mind he had learned from John Martyn, and his My Grandfather song, which he recalls fondly having first performed at The Space Theatre in Adelaide. For me a highlight is Honest Mistake, which Lior also acknowledges as his favourite track on the EP, but every time Lior and Domini embark on a song the melodies and pure harmonies are a absolute listening pleasure. The show concludes with a song Lior had originally recorded with Sia,  I’ll Forget You, which is how their collaboration began, when Donini was asked to sing the female part on tour. The Cabaret Festival always contains some quieter gems amongst all of the razzmatazz, and this has been one of those special evenings. 5 stars Adrian Miller