I can’t lie. I was worried that the crowd for The Jezabels’ concert at The Ruby Lounge would be sparse. As lead singer Hayley Mary said during the band’s set, “We’ve been told we aren’t doing well in England. Apparently we sound too Australian or American or something. But we like England, so we thought we’d give it a go anyway”.
The band were competing against other big name performers within their genre with concerts in Manchester on the same evening. Sleigh Bells, who are fresh off the release of a new album, and Gotye, whose single ‘Somebody That I Used to Know’ has recently taken off in the UK, both had highly anticipated concerts on the same night causing me to worry that The Jezabels would go unnoticed.
I have to hand it to the Aussies, however. The house was almost full and while no one in the crowd knew the words to most of their songs, apart from their well-known tracks like ‘Endless Summer’ and ‘Mace Spray’, the band still brought a performance that showcased the reason for their popularity in Australia. With the hardest working drummer I’ve ever seen perform live paired with dreamy pop sounds pouring from the guitar and keyboards, vocalist Hayley Mary led the helm wearing combat boots and spitting on the floor between sips of her beer.
Coming from Australia where they have a huge fan base and receive excessive amounts of radio play to Manchester where, until now, they’ve had virtually no exposure, didn’t stop the band from playing a great set. With a new album coming out on the 15th, The Jezabels, who have been compared to the likes of PJ Harvey and Paramore, filled the venue, pleased the crowd, and proved their place in the Manchester music scene.
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