Historically Hayley Mary has never failed to deliver. One of the best vocalists of the past 15 years or so, she has always crushed a live show. Heading out on her own on the back of her debut solo album Roman XS, she brought the goods once more to Sydney’s Waywards club. After a couple of years of hurdles (‘let’s just refer to it as the Big C – Covid, not cancer’), this Sydney show made up part of what is her first headline solo tour. After years of seeing her in larger rooms, the intimate nature of Waywards was a nice change-up.
Main support for the night was Sans Rival. Admittedly unfamiliar with their sound, they reminded me of early Papa vs Pretty, with a varied spread of guitar and drums through their smooth and sans hitch set. It’ll be interesting to see how they progress throughout the Sydney music scene and move onto bigger stages, support slots and shows.
With the main set scheduled for a 10:20 pm start time, the hour-long show commenced with a brief cover/ walk on track of Laura Branigan’s “Gloria”, which honestly got the crowd well and truly moving, before the headline set really kicked off with “The Drip”, from Hayley Mary’s 2021 EP of the same name. Considering this was a headline, hometown show for her debut album, you’d imagine it would be pretty ballsy to open up with anything other than a current single or album track. And yet this is exactly what Hayley Mary did, opening with a 4-strong run of “The Drip”, “Brat”, “The Piss, The Perfume” and “The Chain”; all of which were released in 2021 or earlier. Helping differentiate her Roman XS material from her EP music set the night into a nice motion, with the crowd able to sing along to the earlier material without having to pause and think if they recognised it as a newer song. And besides, all four tracks are hits in their own right, so it genuinely just set the room on path for a classic hour long set.
Leaning into the Roman XS material, the front half of the night was rounded out with “One Last Drag”, “Eighteen” (welcoming a friend of the band onto the stage for their definitely not 18th birthday), “The Lonely One” and probably Roman XS’ musical peak, the instant classic “Primordial Afterglow”.
Hayley Mary took the middle stages of the set as an opportunity to comment on her guitar playing skills, the quality of her band, and the absolute lack of money artists make in music in 2024, especially as an independent. Despite her best attempts to engage with those in attendance, the Sydney crowd really didn’t respond. While noting Sydney crowds are generally better than Melbourne crowds, as a punter in attendance and based on this shows lack of respect from the crowd, I couldn’t agree less. From unnecessary yelling in the set, randoms burping in your face, and the generally shitty behaviour of an obnoxious crowd, this Sydney crowd really didn’t create a memorial vibe. The venue’s sound (or lack thereof) didn’t help the situation either to be honest.
Managing to sneak in some EP tracks in the form of “Like A Woman Should” and “Would You Throw A Diamond?” alongside a cover of “Chemtrails Over the Country Club” helped salvage the night, before the introspective “Some Rainbows” and incredibly happy “Ruby Wednesday” rounded the night out as well as you could have hoped for.
Despite the lack of respect in the crowd, Hayley Mary still managed to turn in a set filled with quality vocals and tracks that have or will soundtrack playlists for a while to come.
THREE AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
Hayley will be playing at Northcote Social Club, Melbourne on Friday 29 November – Tickets on sale at hayleymary.com
