The esteemed musical circus director Clara Blume called and thus they gathered in Vienna’s perennial Porgy & Bess. An eclectic collection of musicians from all over Austria and even as far as the United States came together on the 7th of May 2014 to partake in the perhaps highest quality installment to date of the Singer Songwriter Circus which is quickly shaping up to be one of the landmark events within the Austrian Music Scene. The audience were treated to performances by Worth (US), Renato Unterberg, Lylit, the artig.impro group and Clara Blume herself supported by her band.
Clara and Georg Blume together with their band have been refining their craft and at this stage their vision of „Grand Pop“ is a testament to both musicianship and artistic expression. It is a carefully crafted package that has been thought through on multiple levels. Switching through pace, several instruments and a hodgepodge of genres the unifying element is Clara herself fronting the men on stage with style and grace. Thoughtful Piano pieces give way to elaborate pop that evolves and improves with every showing leading the vanguard into the „golden era of Austrian Pop Music“
Highly passionate and quite eccentric. Thus was the music of Salzburg based Band „Renato Unterberg“ named after their mercurial singer. They opened up the evening moving between blues, rock and big band motives with a hint of psychadelia. Renato struck a chord with his variable and unique voice and his funky stage moves. I couldn’t help but be reminded of Tom Waits when hearing the voice and subjects at play here. This is music of serious quality and perhaps logically they have found some success touring internationally since their inception in 2010. Overall it was a performance that stayed true to the name of their current album „In Good Company“
Viennese performance Artists „artig.impro“ provided half-time entertainment in the shape of a pantomime gambling act were lucky audience members could play for CD’s and booze. You should check out their new homebase „Irrlicht“ which is a recently converted brothel and should provide a unique backdrop for events in the future!
Christopher Worth is jovial and positive off-stage, as soon as he took his place in the spotlight however everyone gathered was witness to a spectacular outpouring of emotionally charged melodies that were bevied by an amazing voice that may match Lylit’s in terms of scope and quality. Regaling us with tales and anecdotes in between songs, Worth would show a completely different side to him once his music began. Moving sublimely through a set of grand ballads dealing with love, loss and life we were struck by very genuine emotion reflected in the deeply personal nature of his music. Compared to the other acts of the evening, his performance was almost minimalist in nature being comprised of only vocals, a single acoustic guitar and occasionally switching to the grand piano.
Time and again we cross paths with the accomplished songstress Lylit, and each time it is an absolute joy to experience her live in concert. Beautiful in appearance and positively radiant in her musical prowess, her stage presence fits neatly into a set delivered so tightly and technically strong that it comes as no surprise that she has found herself on an international label with Kedar Entertainment in recent times. She moves fluently through a landscape of pop, jazz and deep soul with a voice befitting of the Sirens of mythology she managed to bring the evening to a rather magnificent crescendo and proved to be a worthy send-off into the night.