Dora Jar with support from Belot and Tiberius b
at Lafayette in London, UK
photos & words by Rachel Wonders

On the evening of the 17th of March, at London’s Lafayette, whimsical indie-pop star Dora Jar, with support from Belot and Tiberius b, put on a surreal night of heavenly performances, dancing, and stories of elves. Beneath the venue’s distinctive glowing arch, the stage was cluttered with instruments that glistened under the stage lights and decorated with a tribal print rug, velvet curtains and a disco ball.

The first support act, singer-songwriter Tiberius b, walked out onto the stage to be greeted by a packed audience with smiles worn on their faces and glistening eyes, eager to watch the performance. They were immediately surrounded by a unique aura, dressed in a baseball cap and cropped vest paired with ¾ length khakis worn over full-length trousers.

Their first song, ‘No Smoke,’ was a prolific and vulnerable ballad drenched in nostalgic instrumentation that centres around difficulty accepting love. Sonically the track is reminiscent of French indie pop artist Christine and the Queens, and the pair also share a similar cool and confident stage presence.

Another standout song featured in their set was an unreleased track titled ‘Delicate People’ that had never been played live before. Tiberius b pulled a wooden stool from the back of the stage to sit on whilst they sang the gentle and raw track, fashioning a more intimate atmosphere. With touching lyrics such as “I don’t want to die / I don’t want to see my mama cry / I don’t want to leave anyone behind”, the song, as the name suggests, explores the fragility of humanity and themes of death and grief. The set ended on a more upbeat light-hearted track titled ‘Olivia’, which was released last week. With synths and an 80s electronic disco sound, both Tiberius b and the audience danced along to the rhythm of the song completely carefree, hair flips and all.

The second support act, Belot, gave an equally captivating performance. Having previously described her sound as “awkward pop,” her set was playful, youthful, and exuberant. ‘Kiss You’, written from the perspective of watching the one you love being with the wrong person, perfectly encapsulated her feel-good alt-pop persona in a song. The chorus is catchy and would take very few listens for the brazen lyrics to plant themselves into a person’s mind.

Belot invited the audience to scream “Jennifer” (the name given to the wrong person in question) along with her, and they happily obliged. Another song performed in her set was her latest single, ‘Math’ which centres around the feeling of being young and not wanting to be in a serious relationship. Stylistically the track is alt-pop, vibrant and jazzy with an infectious beat.

As Belot danced around the stage to the intoxicating melody, the audience mirrored her movements turning Lafayette into a dance floor. The closing song of her lively performance had a unique backstory. She explained that she watched a lot of Modern Family over lockdown and wondered what would happen if Phil, a serious career-driven character, ended up at a drunken party, which inspired her to write a song about giving into the lighter side of life. The track is bouncy yet soulful with an electronic sound and sparkling infectious guitar hooks, creating a light sound to match the tone of the lyrics. Her entire set was bundles of fun and somehow niche but relatable at the same time.

As the fairylike Dora Jar sauntered gracefully onto the stage to the hills are alive from the sound of music soundtrack, the adoring audience lit up the room with their smiles and delighted applause. Dora was dressed in components of several juxtaposing outfits layered on top of each, which matched her unapologetically individualistic character. From the second she began her performance, her quirky personality shone through. The way she moved from one end of the stage to the other whilst she sang was theatrical and mesmerising, and every moment of her performance was filled with magic.

Fittingly, Dora opened with ‘Opening’, a catchy idiosyncratic track that pushes the boundaries of indie-pop music. In fact, every song written by Dora puts a unique spin on the genre, proving just how exceptionally creative and original she is. After a few songs of carefree jumping and dancing from both Dora and the crowd, Dora performed a gentler romantic ballad titled ‘Hill’, which she introduced as “a love song for anyone in love with anything or anyone.” The softness and warmth of the dreamy lyricism were enough to make even the coldest of hearts melt. To extend the gentle, wistful atmosphere, Dora performed a song she wrote around the belief that her body was created by and made of elves.

She further explained that when she feels tingly, she imagines elves walking around her body and cheering her on when she treats herself well. she gave the enchanting song the name ‘an ode to the elves.’ For a subsequent song, ‘Lagoon’, Dora took to the floor to sit cross-legged on the rug with her guitar balanced on her lap before flying back onto her feet to perform fan favourites ‘Multiply’ and ‘Polly.’ She eclectically danced from one end of the stage to the other, occasionally bending down to share the microphone with the fans. As she sang the lyrics of alt-pop anthem ‘Polly,’ the venue turned into a dance floor for the people who feel like outcasts and find solace in Dora’s music. As the track came to an end, the stage lights flashed, and Dora dropped to the floor with her guitar held tightly in her arms to strum the last few bars before saying her goodbyes to her adoring fans.

DORA JAR: LONDON, UK - 17.03.22

TIBERIUS B

BELOT

DORA JAR