Gemma Hayes last Saturday

playground

Playground Psychotic

I'd just like to put this out there...I found Gemma Hayes's performance at Whelan's last week distinctly uninspiring and her attitude depressing.
Hayes is doing nothing to reduce prejudice against women in music. She repetitively referred to pieces of equipment that have proper technical names (that I'm sure Hayes knows) in a breathy whisper as "the thingy". Now, I'm sure Hayes can't help if she talks like a woman fainting in rapture and that's fine, but I think she knows that a mouth organ is called just that (a harmonica will also suffice here) and not 'the thingy, you know, the neil young thingy' whilst making matching pretty gestures at her neck.
As the show went on there were just too many examples to bear of her pretending not to understand her equipment. Hayes has been slogging around the scene for a good five years and I think in that time she has learned the 'thingy' at the front of the stage is called a monitor and I'm also sure she knows how to work her amp, without stamping her foot and screaming.
She is giving off the impression that she (and by extension girls in general) doesn't know a thing about music or her instruments and equipment, which is obviously not true.
And as for the belligerent attitude towards the audience...I'm sure she'll be a big star. Let's face it, she already acts like one.

One disappointed ex-fan.

VonBon

If you didn't go to the gig...
Song ends - it transpires Ms. Hayes amp wasn't working to her satisfaction. Hayes stamps foot, screams. Toadie roadie fixes amp. Hayes suggests they do the end of the song again. Cue delirious cheers from fools who payed to see this nonsense.

Good music, badass attitude to the people who pay to see you play, not rehearse.

indie_chick

yeah, but she's pretty but if u stare at her long enough she doesnt make sense...and her lyrics...WHAT are they all about! And they're charging E12 to go c her....i dont think so....!

knobbles

Jesus, you actually went to the effort of looking for people to share this with:

Hayes is doing nothing to reduce prejudice against women in music

prejudice against women....what would that be then?....
people saying there's very few female artists who create
inspiring music...it's true...i was always lookin out for them,
pj harvey has really blossomed, fiona apple has some good
stuff, i should try more tori some day but few others have inspired me the last decade or so.
for my taste, gemma has already inspired and i rate her one
of the best this country's seen recently with snow patrol, frames,
MBV, U2....good to add a las' to that list!

She repetitively referred to pieces of equipment that have proper technical names (that I'm sure Hayes knows) in a breathy whisper as "the thingy"

I got the impression she just wanted to say something to her
audience....even if it means just waffling "things", it's healthy for
the atmosphere. Or maybe she didn't want to sound patronizing
and throwing technical jargon over the audience. Either way,
i'm don't know why you're bringin this up.
Next quote:

And as for the belligerent attitude towards the audience

....i went to the toilet once during the gig, i didn't know she ceased smiling during those two minutes....or did you mean for me to laugh when you said that?

One disappointed ex-fan

...my god, you were actually a fan before you went to the gig,
what were you a fan of??? Did the music do for you what it
did for me or was it the fact that she was a woman and you
felt obliged to do your part for today's female artists and go down and support the las.
What were you looking for from the gig? A woman who displayed valour in front of the audience - not shy nor timid. A woman who when she spoke between songs made you proud of her and proud of yourself as a woman - intelligent, confident, someone to idolize.

Or did you go to hear a damn fine set of music?

the fnj

I caught the last thirty minutes of her set.

After the first song or two that i saw I thought that there was a problem with the sound set up. To be honest the engineer didn't seem to have a clue as the drummer was giving him directions if what to turn up etc.

What i saw I enjoyed, I didn't notice any of the things (I mean points won't dare use the word things ) that playground pointed out.

My two cents

playground

Knobbles,
I will try to clarify things (see, nothing against that word in general) for you in a less than hysterical manner:

1.) prejudice against women....what would that be then?....

Prejudice against women IN MUSIC is when I go into a music shop and have simple things automatically explained to me because I am a girl; when a shop assistant (male) says 'these guitars are really popular with the "girlies"' instead of girls/women; when I buy or look at a guitar and the sales assistant -and this actually does happen - says 'Is it a present for your boyfriend?'. That, Knobbles is what I mean by prejudice against women in music. I know it's hard, but female musicians have a duty to do their best to discourage this behaviour.

2.) there's very few female artists who create inspiring music

Trying not to laugh here. Suggest looking beyond Smash Hits.

3.) i'm [sic] don't know why you're bringin this up.

See No. 1.

4.) as for the belligerent attitude towards the audience

The audience had paid €12 to see her play a song, then on a whim play the last verse of that song again. We were also privy to her temper tantrums which you may have found 'cute' but I just found embarrassing. I don't know about you but I did not go to see a rehearsal.

5.) what were you a fan of???

I (like you I hesitate to add) was and still am a fan of her music, but after last Saturday have little respect left for Hayes herself.

6.) [Boy was your post long] What were you looking for from the gig? A woman who displayed valour in front of the audience - not shy nor timid. A woman who when she spoke between songs made you proud of her and proud of yourself as a woman - intelligent, confident, someone to idolize.

Or did you go to hear a damn fine set of music?

*Groan* Those are such spurious suggestions. Of course I went hoping to hear a damn fine set of music and to see a damn fine performance. I'm not looking for some musical Joan Of Arc for ****'s sake. I'm just looking for someone who has a little respect for her ticket and record-buying audience and a little self awareness.
I don't look to women or men to validate myself. Maybe you live vicariously through your idols (and frankly it is obvious Ms Hayes is your No. 1) but intelligence and confidence are not experienced through other people (unless your own intelligence and confidence are both very low) and certainly not through a Gemma Hayes performance.


I have wasted a lot of time on this post Knobbles. I don't have time to turn this into a feud. You love Gemma. I'm disappointed and, judging by some of the other posts on the topic, am not the only one. I will still buy her album anyway. I'm leaving it at that.

TriggerGene

I was at the gig - which i really enjoyed - i stood to the left of the stage - where the guitars were kept - it became very apparent that the roadie was finding it very difficult to tune the guitars (be it because of a crap tuner or simply the heat) - there was a lot of feedback at the start of the gig from guitars etc. - im sure gemma hayes probably arrived as late as possible - expecting everything to be in order after a sound check earlier in the day - there were a lot of things that went wrong beyond her control - personally i can understand some frustration on her part - hell her roadie was having a nervous breakdown!(after a long search for the "thingy" he gave up and cursed himself - poor guy!)
at any rate - from a musical perspective she and her band performed very well -ultimately thats her main responsibility and not the technicalities of the gig.

on her attitude - as far as im concerned having a good knowledge of musical vocabulary does not display any musical ability or proficiency - im in a band - and afterwards me and my friend both concluded that we have a lot of work to do to reach her level of song writing ability(were both male) -we left with a lot of respect for her and her music - no prejudice here.

the fnj

Originally posted by playground
Knobbles,
Prejudice against women IN MUSIC is when I go into a music shop and have simple things automatically explained to me because I am a girl; when a shop assistant (male) says 'these guitars are really popular with the "girlies"' instead of girls/women; when I buy or look at a guitar and the sales assistant -and this actually does happen - says 'Is it a present for your boyfriend?'.

LOL

That has to be music Maker.

They've been really condescending to me too before and I'm not a girl.

Richie

I wasn't at the gig, and I do understand playground's frustrations, but the fact is, every lead singer, be it male or female, needs some way of connecting with their audience. It's quite possible that Gemma decided that acting like she was a vulnerable newcomer to it all was her her way of connecting. Sure it didn't wash with you, but I'm sure it won quite a lot of people over. I'm sometimes guilty of the same myself. Just ask Trev our guitarist who constantly slags me about my "little lost boy" approach to some live gigs. As I said, it won't wash with everybody, but f*ck, it does help get the audience on your side from the offset of a gig, and that's as good a start as any!

lois

Great... I'm delighted bout this little discussion.

I was extreamly dissapointed with the gig. Iexpected to pick up some ideas and inspiration and instead was treated to a tuning fest and some poor poor audience ineraction by Ms Hayes.

On speaking to the lady in question backstage she seems to be an extreamly pleasant and amiable individual. Shame it doesnt translate awfully well on stage. The words "lack of professionalism" spring to mind. She didnt seem at all peeved by the catalogue of errors through the show, or the general noise level throughout Whelans, which was very loud indeed. A bored audience is a noisy audience....

teamdresch

Most sensible reply I've seen yet, Lois. I saw the gig, and I gotta agree with you.

TriggerGene

ah i dunno - it could be an ignorant audience rather than a bored one - as i said before a lot of the problems at the gig were beyond her control - the irony is that if she hadnt taken to the time to deal with tuning her guitars there would be a message board of moaners talking about it now.
i enjoyed the new material - was "lucky one" (the first song) new?
i dont blame her for not being "peeved" sh*t happens

teamdresch

**** happens...you don't throw tantrums, you don't play the parts of songs that got messed up again. A little more 'must go on' in the show would have been nice. I doubt anyone gave a rats if her guitar didn't get loud in one part of one song.

TriggerGene

fair enough - it wasnt my highlight of the gig either when she started to repeat herself but i still maintain she performed well - the forthcoming albumn should be bought regardless

lois

The thing with the guitars was that they werent out of bloody tune. I maintain that it appears Gemma is in essence lazy. She has had her publishing deal for three years and only just begun to release stuff. Shocking, most musicians would kill for a chance to release. Ms Hayes seems more concerned with tuning fine guitars than releasing stuff.

Its just unprofessional.:o

loveonautocue

originally I was annoyed that I couldn't get to gemma's gig, but given all the grumbling, i'm really glad I decided to see damien @ the stables in mullingar that night instead. it's a pity because her eps are rather good as i'm sure the album will be, but this isn't the first time i've heard negative things about her live. while people have made good points in her defence, at the same time the truth remains that she is quite an experienced performer and although mistakes like the ones mentioned are forgivable, they still don't reflect well on her or her music or give her fans much incentive to keep going to her shows.