Live Gig Review: Colin Hay and Band at the Corner Hotel in Melbourne, Australia
Editors Note: This review was submitted by writer and musician Cam Hassard who is back in his hometown of Melbourne after traveling the world for the last year. Guitar in hand he plans to hit the road again to continue his unique and witty ramblings on all things music.
The multifarious mix of 80’s heads in the midst of Gen-Y newbies proved visual testament to Colin Hay’s crossover rebirth at Melbourne’s Corner Hotel on Friday the 16th. Performing to a full house of mixed generation aficionados, the Scottish larrikin and Oz-rock luminary’s return to home turf was valiantly well overdue and it was clear from the outset that this Man at Work had returned at the peak of his trade.
Locking into the vibe with dark, mellow Wayfaring Sons; Hay’s natural rapport and banter flowed through artillery of comedic storytelling and colloquial rapport with this loving crowd. As much a comedian as a singer-songwriter, tonight was a room full of ‘His People’, a vibe of laid back admiration. Hedgehog-spiked, replete in white coat, the pensive Hay yielded spellbinding form, sailing through the strobes armed with acoustic guitar, sparkling sweet licks and highland huskiness into the ease of home-crowd adulation.
Hay’s solo journey post-Men at Work has been a steep grassroots climb. After being dumped by his record label in ’91, 2003 album Going Somewhere snowballed in popularity, thrusting his profile with valuable boons as a wandering troubadour in hit series ‘Scrubs’ and a cult boost via the soundtrack to Zach Braff’s ‘Garden State’.
With Cheshire sharktooth grin and tongue firmly planted in cheek, Hay’s distinctive upper register bellowed through decades of repertoire, including Beautiful World and Children on Parade, featuring cameos from sister Carol and an exuberant set-long presence of wife Cecilia. But Hay is a one-man show, and in committing to an largely electric performance, one couldn’t help but think the presence of his stiff session band after just few acoustic numbers was a little unnecessary. Hay’s mellow, bittersweet solo tunes proving a little too slick in this juiced up context, detracting from the genuine, raw soul of his solo work. Two hours of solo Hay would have sufficed.
Nonetheless the five piece certainly jolted the dynamic; Down by the Sea was a sonic surf-mull flashback to 1982, and the presence of horn smith Greg’s Ham in ‘Who can it be now’ wired the show electric, the packed Corner devouring sing along ‘Whoa-Ohs’ at the culmination of the hit tune. Watching the old rockers Hay and Ham gelling on stage was a glimmer of sweet nostalgia.
Though momentum wavered - with newer songs ‘What would Bob do’ and its’ kazoo gimmickry easily forgotten - older material Overkill and the obligatory rendition of Land Down under saved the flow of the night. Hay could do little wrong from this point, this wayfaring son sailing his ship into a collusion of Men at Work’s greatest, the crowd lapping up old Men at Work standards It’s a Mistake and Be Good Johnny.
Scrub fans were satiated with the encore, a spellbinding version of Waiting For My Real Life to Begin’ which brought down the house, leaving ‘Hay’s people’ buzzing for additional heart rending balladeering and more sweet singalongs to boot. Deeply proud that his ship had finally come back in, Hay’ people hoped it would stay that little bit longer, and indeed shoot back down to Southern Skies again in due course.
For more information on Colin Hay, visit his website.
Watch Colin Hay's appearance on Scrubs.
Check out this video for "Beautiful World"
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