Taking the pretty much unheard of route of playing seven shows in seven days at Sydney’s The Lansdowne, locals The Jezabels played night four of their residency to a sell out crowd in front of their hometown fans. Playing a venue literally the next street down from where they formed whilst at uni, the Sydney natives played a career spanning set that went to show the strength and class they’ve had through out the entirety of their career.
Acting as main support for the night was Melbournian Angie McMahon. Having done a little research prior to the night, I knew she was the 2017 recipient of the APRA AMCOS Josh Pyke Partnership, so I expected some pretty big things. She didn’t disappoint. With a sound someone on the bluesier side of a Julien Baker, Amy Shark, Gordi and Gretta Ray sandwich, McMahon was impressive in her short half-hour set. With wit and honesty, I look forward to what she has to come for the rest of the year.
Entering a little after 9:30pm, The Jezabels moved quickly into the set and opened with possibly their biggest ever song, “Mace Spray”. Seven years on from its original release, it’s as impressive now as it was back then. Further to this, the vocals of frontwoman Hayley Mary are still one of the best in the business. Despite struggling with illness and inability to know what day it was, Hayley still took the time to thank the crowd for coming out before moving swiftly into absolute tune “Endless Summer”.
At this point, if they’d played “Disco Biscuit Love” next I’d have been super stoked and wouldn’t have cared what else they played afterwards. It didn’t come about, but “City Girl” was crushed before Hayley took the chance once more to speak with the crowd. Explaining that every time she sings “City Girl” she thinks about a pretentious History Major who took issue with her pronunciation of words within the track. Needless to say, she didn’t have the highest opinion of the guy.
With the middle of the set comprising of “Long Highway”, the outstanding “Easy To Love”, “Sahara Mahala”, “Trycolour” and “Pleasure Drive”, I was reminded of why I’ve loved the band since they began. I’ve always thought the drums were the key to the strength of the band. The atmosphere drummer Nik Kaloper creates through out the tracks is what makes me think he’s one of the best drummers in the country.
As the night drew to a close, “Dark Storm” made an appearance, before they closed out on the anthemically emo “Hurt Me”. For a band to have been at their peak for such a long time and to continually put in efforts like this, whether that be on sprawling festival stages or in intimate clubs like The Lansdowne, you’re always happy to see bands like The Jezabels have success. Playing the same venue for a week straight is no mean feat, but I’m glad it was The Jezabels who decided to do it.
The reviewer attended this show on August 24th.
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