Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *

Such is the lure of Liverpool, its long standing reputation of being a port of call for any musician that wants to play in front of an appreciative audience, one that is open and receptive as long as you are sincere in the love of your craft and not just playing along till something else comes along. Such is that reputation that artists will literary travel thousands of miles just to play a half hour set.

That certainly goes for Israeli musician Roy Dahan who made the long journey from his homeland to give a quite scintillating performance at Brink on Parr Street. The early start for Roy didn’t deter the early gatherers that had waited patiently for the Friday session of Sound City to start. In fairness to Roy, the vast majority of the people there would have been there early to catch Anna Corcoran performing. However when you have a cracking voice, play the keyboard like a dream and have alongside you the very superb talent of Eyai Yahav on cello, then it was no wonder that looking around the venue to see the looks of the transfixed and understandingly and suitably impressed.

Roy’ impressive build, the very nature of someone from a distant exotic land only added to the way in which he held himself and his music, the music was often sultry in keeping with images of his homeland, songs such as Whisper, Falling Like A Stone, the incredible Crush and Fool could only make the audience forget their cares and relax them into the thought of a very easy and sedate Friday evening ahead. The way that Thursday finished with a huge band across many venues was replaced with this new thought, even if just for a couple of hours that sometimes the music doesn’t need to brash and big, bouncy and brilliant, it just needs to be loved by the person performing it and in Roy Dahan and Eyai Yahav this was exemplified.

Just a half hour in which to impress, it’s far to say that Roy did more than enough in a fraction of that time.

Ian D. Hall