Sinister: Gemma

[Simon Fallaha]

Wow.

Well everyone, I saw Gemma Hayes last night and it was
more than just a pleasant surprise. Her only stop in
Northern Ireland on her current tour is the Nerve
Centre, in Derry! Amazing. Especially considering that
I now live in Belfast on weekdays (I'm now working up
there on placement, until next September).

There was a good crowd at the Nerve Centre last night
(eventually - most were not there to see the
supporting acts). I was there for the whole running
length, and here's my view...

The music was of a generally high standard throughout.
We'd two supporting acts. Firstly a pair of unknown
middle-aged guys who sounded like Simon & Garfunkel
wannabes. Not that that is necessarily a bad thing -
their songs had good harmonies and were fun to listen
to on the whole. Secondly, an Irish singer/guitarist
called Ann Scott took the stage. Previously unknown to
me before this, she's actually released an album down
south. Her style is pretty much like Gemma's, although
maybe a little more downbeat. Her first EP is actually
out now - it's called the Pauper Tiger EP, and it's
released on her own label, Raghouse Records. She's
also recording an album at the minute. I'll tell you
what, she has the potential to go far. 

But what about Gemma herself? Well, she arrived on
stage looking quite stunning and to a really loud
cheer from the crowd. Right from the opening number
you felt this was going to be a good night. 

More than any other artist I've seen, she attempted to
make herself feel at home with us, the audience. Her
first question: "Does anyone know how the United game
went?" (I did stick my hand up, but she never
noticed). Later she commented "We lost". Does this
mean she's a Spurs fan, by any chance? Also, she gave
out some of her plectrums to some of the crowd. In
fact, I picked up one from her, but gave it away to
the guy who'd asked for it in the first place
(sigh...). Nor did she mind posing for photos demanded
by many over-enthusiastic fans. (One of her poses
echoed one of Audrey Tautou's funny faces from
Amelie). Calls of "Marry me!" rang from quite a few of
the lads in the crowd throughout the concert. She took
them all with a nod and a wink, and praised us for
being such a great audience. It seemed that she was
enjoying the concert as much as we were, if not more.

The songs she sang were some of the best ones from her
album, Night On My Side, and a few from her first two
EP's (including 4:35 a.m., the first one I ever
listened to). The album's had plenty of praise and
success, but many have been surprised by its Mercury
nomination. None more so than Sunday Times critic Mick
Heaney - he claimed that not only do many Brits not
know much about her (no one at work in Belfast had
remotely heard of Gemma, and it was only on the bus
back home that I found someone remotely interested)
but her album was not "new" enough, too obviously
influenced by alternative rock. I don't see that as a
handicap though. This "influence" may be noticeable
sometimes, but her songs do have a certain freshness
to them, especially in the lyrics department. Besides,
it's a style that's likely to win over many new fans.

Yet to be honest, I was actually quite divided on
Night On My Side before last night. My opinion was
that the first six songs are brilliant but then it
kind of meanders after that. Four of those first six
songs were in the line up: Hanging Around (probably
her most famous song, and a very good one at that),
Back Of My Hand (a very catchy and upbeat love song
which everyone should almost certainly love), Let A
Good Thing Go (here, she ventures into heavy metal
territory, and with considerable success. The crowd
seemed to love this one more than the others; she even
let us sing one line. Admittedly it was deafening, but
then that's the idea) and Ran For Miles (slow, but
pleasant). 

Sometimes she wandered into the land of strangeness.
Before the song Lucky One, she said "It works best if
you close your eyes and pretend you're a bird". Huh?!
Nevertheless, I tried it - it was effective, sort of.
Ironically, the song is subtitled Bird Of Casadaga, so
I shouldn't have been too surprised about that
comment. There was also a song called I Can't Find
Love ("Awww!" cried many of the fans, until she told
them it was about a friend of hers). She did three
encores; 4.35 a.m., Tear In My Side and Evening Sun.
The first two were pleasant to listen to, and the
final song was especially moving.

The only complaint that I have is that the concert was
too short. At the end, there was a real feeling of
anticlimax, and there was no merchandise to collect.
Still, you can't have everything, and the concert as a
whole is probably the second best one I've seen
(behind Belle & Sebastian). I doubt that I was the
only one who felt it was all over too soon.

Take care all,

Psi

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