Gemma Hayes at Oslo Hackey 16/01/2015

Last time I saw Gemma Hayes live was 2002 at ULU. It was the very first time I saw her. She had just released her first album “Night On My Side” which it was great debut critically acclaimed and make her nominated for the mercury prize and considered the new big thing. I have listened that CD so much I could even imagine I could see her live and I  was in London just since few weeks.

ULU was as small venue owned by University of London, I remember taking a lot of shitty picture with an analogical camera, till the security guy ask me to stop, I remember her drummer breaking his stick playing “Let a Good Thing Goes”.

The performance was totally different from that one I attend few days ago at Oslo Hackney. In 2002 she was so fragile and shy she couldn't even answer to people who where shouting at her while she was explaining some of her song, which mostly refer to her private life and her struggling to find love. She was struggling to play “Lucky One” after she had introduced.

Last nigh at Oslo was kind of different. It’s been more then 10 years since then, she has gone through a lot of stuff. She is a mother now, she had played with band like Counting Crows, she wrote music for films and fictions, she is producing her music with Plege.com instead of an a major label.

She is not a big star, she is an normal person playing an extraordinary music. She much more confident now, so much that the gig could have been sound too professional to who saw her at a very begin of her career.

Not much space to the old stuff. “Back of My Hand” has been the only song from her first album, dated 2002. She opened the stage with “Waiting For You” and “Shock To My System” who she revealed to be written the same day with the same chords. Joke or reality? Who knows. Both  of them are great songs, so who really cares?

The gig last only about an hour, with a total of 13 songs played, most of the from her last two album.

I only discovered the day after that she was going to play another gig in London, at the Olympic Studios, which is exactly were I work. It will be a very intimate show as the room which host the event is really small. It’s going to be tonight and I can’t wait for it.

Set list from live in Oslo Hackney

Waiting For You - Let It Break

Shock To The System - Let It Break

Back Of My Hand - Night On My Side

Chasing Dragons - The Hollow of Morning

Making My Way Back - Bones + Longing

Ruin - Let It Break

Dreamt You Were Fine - Bones + Longing

Palomino - Bones + Longing

To Be Your Honey - Bones + Longing

All I Need - Let It Break

Keep Running - Let It Break

Encore

Happy Sad - The Roads Don’t Love you

Dark Moon - Bones + Longing