DORA JAR - NYC, NY 9.23.24
Coverage by Kimmy Curry
California-based pop singer-songwriter Dora Jar (the punny stage name of Dora Jarkowski) brought her latest headlining tour to New York's Irving Plaza on Monday night. She entered the stage by theatrically applying her makeup in the middle of the stage, lit by a single spotlight. Although her debut record was only released a few weeks ago, Jarkowski is no stranger to the stage. She has opened on tours for big names such as Billie Eilish, the Neighbourhood, and the 1975 over the past few years and she has her confident stage presence to show for it. To be fair, it would be impossible to stand still while performing songs from the record No Way to Relax When You Are On Fire, but Jarkowski has a talent for filling any room with her infectious energy.
Leaning more hyper-pop than some of her earlier releases, Dora Jar's album mixes acoustic guitar with electronic synths and vocal effects to create some of the most intriguing pop music that has come out this year. One of the first songs on the setlist was "Behind the Curtain" from her recent album, which begins with an acoustic guitar and escalates to a bass-pounding beat drop that fits right in with the pop girl club anthems of 2024. Her unconventional choice of pre-show entertainment was Delia Delia "The Flat-Chested Witch", a local NYC clown performer, who also joined Dora on stage for a song. Dora's whole set was oozing with the same unapologetically quirky personality as her music, establishing her as a uniquely talented artist and performer who is rising to prominence in front of our eyes.
