The Jezabels @ The AstorTheatre, Perth (04/11/11)

Mon 7th Nov, 2011 in Gig Reviews

The Jezabels played The Astor on Friday night, as they geared up to the end of their Australian tour of new album Prisoner.

Wolves At The Door played to a decent crowd as many punters had chosen to gather early to this sold out gig. The harmonies within the band were a highlight of their dreamy, dazy sound. At times sounding like desert music, at others a bit too drone-like, the crowd seemed to have a take or leave it attitude. There were some definite moments of beauty throughout the set but the energy of the band and crowd was such that Wolves at the Door weren’t in with a chance of outshining either The Jezabels or the next support.

Hey Rosetta! came next, wowing the crowd with some amazing musical ability. This large Canadian band includes a cello and violin and many times through the set an operatic feeling was invoked. The vocals of Tim Baker seemed to be competing with Jezabels’ frontwoman Hayley Mary for most powerful vocal of the night. With their Australia song, this band could do no wrong.

Neither can The Jezabels do wrong with Hayley Mary as a front woman. The music was hardly discernable from the recorded versions of their songs – but not in a bland going through the motions way. There was enough force behind their live show to draw the crowd off their seats and towards the stage.

The first track was dark and mysterious, with shadows of the band cast on the background of the stage. It was a showcase of the instrumental side of the band, especially drummer Nik Kaloper It was a dramatic start to an impressive show. Soon we were hearing new radio favourite Endless Summer. This led directly into Easy to Love which led the crowd into the first of many sing-alongs to come. From here on, it was well known songs interspersed with lesser known tracks which often fared poorly in terms of audience interaction.

The vibe of the crowd was that they were waiting, waiting, waiting for those songs they’ve come to love without much care towards anything new. For some it must have been their first chance to see The Jezebals live, so that feeling of almost desperation and impatience to hear their own individual favourite. Mace Spray was clearly that song for many in the crowd, with the intro sparking excited responses. Mary started headbanging during this song and continued to do so sporadically for the rest of the night. Mary is a character with great stage presence. Her voice is so pitch perfect and exact which is amazing in itself for the demanding melodies of their songs; on top of this she has the energy to stalk and dance around the stage.

Mention should go to keyboardist, harmoniser Heather Shannon who kept up with Mary throughout the show. Hey Rosetta! revisited the stage to lend their cello and violin to a new song.

Hurt Me was a favourite, with Mary’s voice cutting to the core of many hearts around the theatre. Singing along was hardly an option with people’s voices ignited from the familiar rolling drums at the outset of the song. Towards the end of the evening, Mary showed signs of her voice tiring but she ploughed on pushing herself to the limit which only served to impress the crowd even more. Disco Biscuit Love was the last song of the night and the crowd left satisfied to have seen some great, unique Australian music talent.