Gemma Hayes live at Vicar St, Dublin

“Holy Shit!” Not the words you might expect to hear from the usually quietly-spoken Ballyporeen beauty. But that was precisely her reaction to the rapturous reception she received from a packed to the gills Vicar St. for what, I’m reliably told, was her biggest solo headliner to date.
For Hayes, who has recently returned to the fray after a three year absence, it must have been gratifying and even a justification for her self-imposed lay-off. All she had to do now was deliver the goods – and deliver she did.
Opening with the already familiar ‘Another For The Darkness’, from her second album The Roads Don’t Love You, she settled into the performance with an ease that can only come from confidence in the material. It helped that she had a cracking three-piece band behind her, adding muscle where it was needed and harmonies to songs like the gorgeous ‘Undercover’.
The sound-mix was immaculate too, with every nuance of her voice clearly audible. It also undoubtedly helps that – as Sean Moncrieffe said on the radio earlier in the day – “she’s very pretty” (the male contingent in the crowd visibly groaned as she confided that her jeans were so tight it affected her ability to move around onstage!).
But, all that apart, the reason she has an audience is because she writes some very good songs. While not always instantly accessible, highly personal tunes like ‘Happy Sad’, ‘Back Of My Hand’ and ‘Hanging Around’ have a way of lodging into the subconscious and remaining there indefinitely.
A real surprise was a cover of Wreckless Eric’s power-pop gem ‘The Whole Wide World’, which worked brilliantly. The only bum note came during the encore, when a seemingly perfect acoustic version of ‘Evening Sun’ fell apart (she wasn’t happy with the sound, apparently). She rescued the moment with an acappella rendition of ‘A Fond Kiss’, finishing a near-prefect set with ‘Nothing Can’ from her latest album.
The night was certainly on her side.