Live Review: Bill Murray, Jan Vogler & Friends

It is hard to know what to expect when taking our seats at the QPAC Concert Hall to see the one and only Bill Murray and Jan Vogler. The New Worlds show promises to bridge the gap between Europe and America through the exploration of the greatest literature and music each continent has to offer.

Although unclear whether the show achieves this grandiose feat, it provides the audience with an entertaining evening. The poignant literary readings, married with a rich musical score, provides the audience with a greater appreciation for both. Murray skillfully charts his way through the works of Ernest Hemmingway, Walt Whitman and Mark Twain, while cellist Vogler, violinist Mira Wang and pianist Vanessa Perez expertly perform works by Bach, Ravel and Schubert.

Murray provides expertly timed comedic relief with deadpan quips and passionate but occasionally tone-deaf renditions of Bernstein, Gershwin and Van Morrison. In particular, his performance of Tom Waits’ The Piano Has Been Drinking and West Side Story’s I Feel Pretty has the audience in stitches.

Towards the end of the evening, the show takes a karaoke turn in which Murray leads the audience in an enthusiastic rendition of The Bonnie Banks O’ Loch Lomond. The crowd attempts to mimic his less than perfect attempt at a Scottish accent, resulting in a comedic moment that could only have been achieved by Murray.

The last 20 minutes of the show drags on somewhat, though Murray seems comfortably aware of this, stating, "I don’t know about you guys, but we don’t have anywhere else to go." Finally, after receiving a bunch of red roses, Murray runs about the audience distributing the flowers to the enamoured crowd to close the show.

It is a rollercoaster of an evening, though after some reflection, it is exactly what you’d expect from the man, the myth, the legend; Bill Murray.