hayley jensen

tonight in the spirit of let it flow
i find myself back at the vanguard hotel in newtown
in the company of long lost friends and acquaintances
with the common goal of providing support to an up and coming artist
apparantly she has already had her moment in the spotlight
having had national ex-pos-ure on australian idle
but now pursuing a serious career as an entertainer
i'd heard she was above the average
and at least had a good voice, songs to sing
and a yearning to rise above the pack and sch-lack
of all that 15 minutes in the spotlight is provided by said tv show
so i lowered the musical snob barriers
and ventured forth with open ears to partake of this experience
before show-time i find myself introduced to hayley's partner tim
and in a slightly intoxicated manner take the opportunity
in 15 words or less (read paragraphs)
impart upon him my take on the music business, the industry of music
to which i feel, given the circumstances, and the red wine intake
i can teach this young whippersnapper a thing or 2
now on the basis that he nodded, smiled and agreed a lot
i assume my message got through
hic, it's a jungle out there, hic, in my day, hic, stay true to your music, hic
blah-dy, blah-dy, blah, blah, blah
funnily enough come showtime and my foil has quietly relocated
hayley is on stage with a 3 piece band in backup
and occassional acoustic guitar from support act anthony snape
the band is a competent bass, guitar and drums/percussion lineup
she certainly has a striking voice
clear as a bell and strong with it as well
she hits all the notes bang on
the band play very loudly but she still comes out on top
there are a host of self-written and co-written songs
which all sound of a decent quality and appealing enough
but the big moment of the night is when as she introduces quote
a cover of a cover of a song originally done by sting
and laterly recorded by eva cassidy who hayley is a big fan of
fields of gold which for me is probably the best song
both of these artists ever recorded
she did it beautifully and had the audience lapping it up
later in the set she also hauled out another eva cover
time after time by cyndi lauper which was also done very well
throughout the performance i was wondering how she will go
i think she has every chance of becoming successful
seems she has already snared a loyal following
she has the voice, the songs, the attitude, the patience
similarly she has got good management and record company backing
so given the correct guidance and everything else it will all come good
i hope she doesn't get tagged as the eva clone
sonically at least she is up there with her
so maybe her own unique take on a few other songs
will make those that need something to hook onto
sit up, take notice and move on from her illustrious past
cheers hayley