Discover more from ENTHUSIASM with Kate Leaver
What do you reckon it’s like to perform with Kylie Minogue every weekend?? INCREDIBLE, by the sound of it.
I spoke to Hayley Jane Batt, who’s currently doing exactly that. She’s the bassist for Kylie’s residency in the Voltaire at the Venetian Hotel… which means she gets to play Grammy Award Winning Dance Pop Track PADAM all the time. With actual Kylie.
Listen, I was as restrained as I could be asking these questions, given that my love for both Kylie and Hayley runs very, very deep. And as we all know, I am only able to control my enthusiasm so much.
May I say now, like Laura Linney sneaking round a corner to scream out her excitement in Love Actually: AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. PADAM PADAM I HEAR IT AND I KNOW PADAM PADAM I KNOW YOU WANNA TAKE ME HOME PADAMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM
OK. Now that’s done, here you go.
Hayley Jane Batt. You’re currently playing bass for tiny living legend Kylie Minogue in Las Vegas. I am so happy and so jealous. Please tell me about the first time you met Kylie. What was she wearing! What did she say! Did you make direct eye contact! Were you changed forever!
Kate Leaver! Yes, I am playing for tiny living legend Kylie Minogue! I first met her in band rehearsals in Vegas, she was wearing a stylish and comfy suit-jacket-with-sweatpants-or-jeans combo and a baseball hat. We had a big hug, said hello, had direct eye contact, and exchanged ‘thank you for being here! thank you for having me!’ kind of sentences and yes, of course, I was forever changed.
WHAT IS KYLIE LIKE?????
She is a sweet angel of a human. Everything you'd like her to be and more. She is energetic, hardworking, kind, and joyous. Truly one of my favourite artists I’ve ever worked with.
What was your reaction, when you heard she needed a bassist, and how much time passed before you messaged me about it?
I believe I messaged you within an hour of finding out I was being considered, just saying PADAM. You somehow knew what I meant, as with every conversation we have had since, where we exclusively have full conversations using just the words PADAM PADAM. I was very excited to be in the running, but didn’t want to acknowledge it properly in any way to anyone, even myself, until it was confirmed.
How many songs did you have to learn?
We play about 18 songs in the set! Though I learnt some of her back catalogue before I even knew I had the gig, just to immerse myself fully into the Kylie world.
How many hours do you reckon you spent learning those songs?
Many….many hours. A lot of time goes into learning the material well before rehearsals actually start, so that the time in rehearsals with everyone can be focused on getting any new arrangements right, and being able to run the set for the production team and dancers, without wasting time not having the music down.
Tell me about the shows!!! How long are they, how many people are in the audience, what sort of price are people paying for tickets?
The show is 75 minutes. It is SUCH a fun show. As you can imagine, every song is a banger, so it’s really fast paced and every time I look down at the set list I think ‘ooh, I love this one!’. The Voltaire holds 1000 people, with a mixture of standing room at the bar, and then fancy tables (with caviar and cookies!) near the stage. People pay….a lot of money for the tickets. I believe the packages for tables are in the thousands. A general admission ticket is about $350. It's an extremely up-close and personal event, Kylie is literally IN the audience at times.
What’s the audience like? What kind of demographic are we talking here?
Every night is absolutely wild! The audience seems to always be filled with super-fans, wearing fabulous, sequined outfits. They always bring an amazing energy, lots of whooping and dancing, with a good amount of crying as well.
What does Kylie wear?
She wears custom Dolce Gabbana and Alexandre Vauthier!
What do you wear?
I wear black skinny trousers, a netted long-sleeve high-neck leotard, with a black sequin waistcoat, a silk striped neck scarf, and high-heeled mary-jane shoes! I love it.
How many versions of your outfit do you have? How many costume changes does Kylie have?
I only have the one version of my outfit (it gets washed between shows of course) and Kylie has four fabulous costume changes.
Do you have a little pre-show band ritual? Chats backstage? High fives afterwards?
We are all on stage about 10 minutes before the show, where we dance around to the pre-show playlist from behind the curtain - lots of arms in the air, jumping, dancing and chatting. I always make sure to hug each band member before the show. After the show there’s lots of clapping and smiling and hugging as well. As a team we all really love each other and get on so well!
What’s your favourite Kylie song and why is it PADAM?
Do you mean the GRAMMY-AWARD-WINNING SMASH-HIT PADAM? Do I even need to tell you why? PADAM.
Please tell me everything you can about the experience of playing PADAM with Kylie?
The curtain is closed. The lights go down. A red-light engulfs the room. We all put on red-visors over our face. We stand very still. The curtain goes up….PADAM.
I continue to stand very still for most of this song actually, as the iconic synth-bass part requires a lot of concentration!
Do you sometimes look over while you’re on stage and think, oh my god, what is my life, that’s Kylie Minogue??
I do. Sometimes in this business, you can get complacent and a show is just a show. But with this one, it's never lost on me that we're doing something really awesome and wonderful, with a team of great people. It's always important to take a moment, and really look around and think about what is happening. Without fail, every time we play Can’t Get You Out of My Head, I think “I’m playing Can’t Get You Out of My Head with actual Kylie Minogue, that's so cool!”. Another favourite moment on stage is playing All The Lovers. I get quite emotional and grateful when that one starts.
Do you do anything cheeky in Las Vegas between shows?
The cheekiest thing I did before one show was lose $20 to a slot-machine. But usually it's a lot of stretching, taking my time to get ready, crocheting, snacking or dancing around the dressing room.
Have you sampled Kylie’s non-alcoholic rose yet?
YES. It’s the best non-alcoholic rose I’ve ever tried. I don’t drink, so am always on the lookout for the best ones and this really tastes like rose. It’s really, really great.
Have you taught her to crochet? Will you teach her to crochet?
I haven’t taught her, but we have chatted about it and she said she used to crochet as a kid, so whenever she wants to get back into it, she knows who to go to.
Has Kylie done anything adorable and fabulous you can tell us about?
One of my favourite adorable and fabulous things she did was actually at our first day of rehearsal. We all wore name tags so everyone could learn each other’s names. They were like the ones you’d see at a corporate event or something that say ‘hi my name is…’ and then you write your name. Kylie also wore one saying ‘hi my name is Kylie’. It was so precious.
What’s next for you, gig-wise, do you know?
A couple things! This year should bring me back on the road to the UK with Love Fame Tragedy - which is the side project of Murph from The Wombats. I’ll also be back out with Conan Gray at some point as well. So a couple lovely things to look forward to.
Hayley Jane Batt is a singer! A songwriter! Obviously, a sick bassist. She does the synth bass, too. She has been touring and gigging as a musician for a decade, she’s really pretty and really nice, and she is part of the gentle pop band Superheart. You can follow her on Instagram, which I highly recommend, and read more about her in this story in Bass Magazine!
This is ENTHUSIASM with Kate Leaver. A newsletter written by an excitable journalist who likes to really like the things she likes. Subscribe, send this to someone you like, share it with your nemesis… but most importantly, listen to PADAM by Kylie Minogue again. Bye! x
PADAM. Loved this, KL!