Who Hurt this Man? Getting vulnerable and wholesome with Hazlett at The Corner Hotel
I haven’t had a good yearn-and-self-reflection ahh evening in a while, and this was exactly the night for it. With a sold-out show at The Corner Hotel in Richmond, you’d expect the main act to be backstage hyping themselves up over a celebratory beverage or indulging in their rider. But not Hazlett - upon entering, he could be found manning the merch stand, selling records, folding T-shirts, and chatting with fans. If this isn’t an immediate testament to the kind of artist he is, then I don’t know what is.
The scene was set by the ethereal Sidney, who you could hear a pin drop for every time she sang. A crowd fave in her set was her haunting rendition of I Wanna Dance With Somebody by Whitney Houston, where she stacked her own voice into a magical choir of harmonies and encouraged the audience to join in. I learnt two things: how much I love harmonies, and that the couple behind me are tone-deaf.
Hazlett came onstage not a second late - swelling guitars, surrounded by a soft fog. I’m sure I heard waves crashing and trees rustling too. His whole show felt incredibly raw, sombre, and earthy, and he carried such a calm, captivating presence through every song. Hazlett promised us a night of depressing songs, and that’s exactly what we got (in the best way). It genuinely felt like he opened his whole heart and let us in, and it was beautiful.
He shared that he “stumbled” into his new album after intending to take a break from music, but one day he walked past his guitar and the songs just flowed. Plus, his mum loved it - which is obviously a clear sign you’re onto something special. He reflected on his roots too: starting out in a band that didn’t work, working at an advertising agency, before a mate who worked at a bar “saved him” with a pub covers gig. That’s where he began trialling his own material, admitting he eventually lost that gig for being “too depressing”. But everything happens for a reason, and Hazlett stuck at it - quickly becoming quite the icon across Australia and internationally.
As sad as much of his material may be, he still brought a subtle, tasteful wit to his onstage dialogue. Playing crowd favourites like ‘please don’t be’, ‘queen of the season’, and ‘doing my best’, alongside some new tracks, one thing was clear - Hazlett couldn’t hit a bad note if he tried. Even his guitar could sing.
This was an incredibly wholesome, honest show, and I left with a deeper love and appreciation for sad music. This one’s for the yearners.
