Live Review: GAYLE - Omeara, London 30/05/2022
Teaching us our ABCs, in comes Texan TikTok viral phenomenon GAYLE, making a dull Monday night into a pop-punk celebration of broken hearts and safe rebellion.
With unruly tunes that have been stuck in our heads for months, the explosive energy of a 17-year-old (soon to be 18) Cancer sun, and a voice so powerful that makes you shake on your boots, the young ‘emo alphabet girl’ better known as GAYLE took the stage at London’s Omeara by storm, leaving every single one of the people present mind-blown after her first ever headline show in the UK.
After a buzzing performance by opening act Oliver Keane, the indie-rock hot shot making waves in the London scene with a voice that resembles Kurt Cobain’s and incredibly passionate songs, the room naively got ready for what everyone expected to be just another performance by an American pop child on a chill Monday night, however, little did we know we were about to presence such an electrifying show.
From the second GAYLE set foot on the stage, the energy went through the roof. Casually having banter with the audience and playing into the inside jokes of the fanbase while effortlessly singing smashing teen anthems jumping from corner to corner, it is clear that she is a natural performer, born to be on stage. The confidence of her voice and her moves showed how comfortable GAYLE is while sharing incredibly personal yet relatable songs which happen to be laid to thrilling pop-punk rebellious guitars, flirting with the shared angsty feeling of Gen Z. From ‘luv starved’ to ‘god has a sense of humour’ all the way to ‘abcdfu (angrier)’, every single song had moshpit hit qualities. Even the cover of Joan Jett’s ‘Bad Reputation’ and the sweet ‘Happy Birthday’ she sang for one of her bandmates (several of her crew and herself) were incredible.
Before the show, it was really hard to picture any song but the 2021 viral alphabet single as a resounding success with the audience, however, song after song GAYLE showed everyone how she’s more than a one-trick-pony. If it says anything, we haven’t stopped listening to her debut EP ‘a study of the human experience volume one’ since we got out of the gig and we cannot wait to have her release more as she shamelessly teased the audience with a brilliant unreleased single that had us on the edge of our seats (not that there were any seats but you get the point).
GAYLE’s stage presence and sharp songwriting are guaranteed to put her on the biggest stages of the world in no time. With upcoming headline, a support tour (AJR) and several festival performances booked, the rest of 2022 certainly will be exciting for the rising star who managed to bump Adele off the top of the charts. Following on the footsteps of icons such as Hasley, Avril Lavigne and Joan Jett herself, the kick-ass rockstar gene is definitely in GAYLE’s DNA and the world better get ready because she’s just getting started.
Words by Nicole Otero
Photography by James Baker
