American singer-songwriter Dora Jar had a rollicking good time with fans at Toronto’s Drake Underground.
Having opened up for Billie Eilish on tour, this occasion marked her first headlining slot in Canada – crossing the border to alert audiences as to what all the fuss is about.
Jar (real name: Dora Jarkowski), now 26, uncannily justified the hype. Skipping through a breezy, occasionally acidic track list of Tiger Face and Opening, she generously pulled from 2021’s Digital Meadow as well as this year’s Comfortably In Pain, which Britain’s NME declared “the year’s best EP so far”.
It’s no surprise then that the sold-out crowd ate up the sweet and sour candy of her anarchic spirit, amplified by the killer riffs and pounding beats of her impressive backing band.
Dora Jar makes her headlining Canadian debut at Toronto’s Drake Underground. Photo by Myles Herod
Jar’s mic could’ve used a slight volume boost, but her pitch was a thing of awe onstage. As for all her aggressive head banging, that slowly eased and was later matched by a succession of hushed, contemplative tunes like the anthemic Hil.
Watching her live is to understand that eccentricity is integral to her makeup and soul. Unpredictable is one way to put it, master of surprise is another.
And yet, on the fun scale, the enigmatic Jar delivered a lot, making it clear that she is intent on disrupting anybody’s expectations when they come to see her live.
With her career on the rise and exciting things in the pipeline, the independent artist has proven she’s a force to be reckoned with. What’s next is sure to be very interesting indeed.
Myles Herod
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