I have never been as pumped in my life as I was last Thursday when I headed into the Triffid to catch The Jezabels touring in support of their new album Synthia. This was the first time I had seen the Jezabels play, despite following them for a number of years, so I was exited to see how their music translated to live performance – I was planning on seeing them earlier in the year, when their show was unfortunately cancelled, so I was extra stoked to go to this gig.

Nice and close to the barrier, beer in hand, the audience was pretty pumped to see opening act Ali Barter take to the stage. Girls with guitars make me happy, and Ali Barter was no exception. Her five piece band were all dressed in black, which made the music more impressive, as I wasn’t swayed by the visual elements of her songs. Her folk rock vibe was accompanied with groovy synths and bass, and dissonant, wailing lead guitar riffs. Her vocals were a bit plain, but that somehow added to her charm – the lack of any apparent embellishing made her voice stand out more, and showcase its strength and power.

New single Girlie Bits was a standout of the set, where she reached into the top of her range for a powerful and gut wrenching bridge. However, I feel her stage presence was slightly lacking, and the vocal mix wasn’t all that great (whether that was her fault or the sound guy, I don’t know). Ali Barter was an excellent choice of support for The Jezabels, and I can’t wait to see if playing her own headline show helps her to create a more solid stage presence.

The Jezabels came to the stage just after ten, to rapturous applause. The band, again, was all dressed in black, which helped to set the intense vibe for the show we were about to see. Hayley came on the stage last, dressed in laced up leather pants, a mesh top, and a black leather jacket, painted with a floral design and ‘Be My Holiday’ across the back. Appropriately, they opened with Stand and Deliver, followed straight into lead album single, My Love Is My Disease. Hayley owned the stage, booty-shaking and busting out the ‘80s dance moves, whilst belting out the lyrics at full velocity. 

Not ones for wasting time, The Jezabels played Mace Spray, Long Highway and Smile back to back, before taking a brief moment to greet the audience, drink some water and tell a Shania Twain joke before launching into more bangers. Look of Love produced some crazier dance moves, plus an impromptu water bottle shower, and awkward banter about the stifling heat in the Triffid, which I’m sure was amplified by the dancing and lights. The synths in Unnatural were a musical highlight – their newer stuff is going in a new direction, and it's nice to see this reciprocated on stage.

Come Alive had jungly vibes, and Pleasure Drive, which was introduced as being about ‘good vibes and shit,’ was sexy and sultry. Disco Biscuit Love was full of absolute emotion and saw Hayley singing on her knees squeezing every ounce of energy into the raw performance.  The highlight of the gig was Hurt Me, my personal all time favourite Jezabels song. At first, Hayley was just busting out the crazy dance moves and belting out the lyrics, then with passion (that was probably fuelled by the whisky she sculled prior to this song), she jumped off the stage, over the audience barrier, and proceeded to crowd surf through the bridge of the song, until security helped her back. Following on from this, ‘Because everyone likes old songs,’ Endless Summer was also a banger, and pulled out all the funky synths and strobe lights. I hope no one was epileptic, because at this point the entire audience was dancing their hearts out, and the mosh pit was pretty intense.

During a small technical difficulty, Hayley pulled out her trademark awkward banter, by putting the audience to a vote about whether Kim Kardashian deserved to be robbed, before doing a total 180, and playing the most sensitive song of night, Small World, and finishing up with a simple, ‘I feel like that’s the end, thanks,’ before walking off stage.

Their encore after an almost two hour set was absolutely phenomenal. Mystical chords and funky beats began In The End, which was ironically the closing song of the night. She jumped off the barrier again, but this time managed to make it all the way to the back of the Triffid, singing more than half of the song whilst in the air, before making her way back onto the stage, sculling another whisky, taking a bow, and finishing the set (for real this time).

I don’t know what I expected when I went to see The Jezabels but this was definitely all that and more, plus some more on top of that. This was possibly the best gig I’ve been to this year and I’m still thriving.

- Olivia Shoesmith