Live Review: Colin Hay

Colin Hay is truly one of a kind and, quite frankly, near on impossible to review such is the impact and sheer depth of his show. As the frontman and lead songwriter for Men At Work, he penned a string of hit singles in the ‘80s, including what most would consider our unofficial national anthem, yet he still speaks with a heavy Scottish accent, now lives in L.A. and onstage is as much stand-up comedian as he is a remarkable singer, songwriter and guitarist.

He speaks for near on ten minutes before even playing a song, and this isn’t bad as the crowd are instantly in stitches as he earnestly pulls from his bag of stories. He’s touring for a new album – Next Year People – yet it’s the evocative storytelling beauty of Beautiful World, from 2000’s Going Somewhere, that starts the musical portion of the show. He jokes about his old band throughout the show and one of these spiels leads effortlessly into Who Can It Be Now, an early highlight which quickly rouses the audience who gleefully offer the familiar backing vocals at the end. 

His stories are incredible and evoke a rough timeline of his life, from playing in a band with an American number one single and a Grammy for Best New Artist to varying subjects like his recently departed parents, erections and Viagra, anxiety, drugs and various encounters with everyone from Little Richard to Ringo Starr. He explains all without an ounce of irony or name-dropping, but more with a self-deprecating reverence. Yet here he stands onstage at a sold-out Tivoli remembering that one time Zach Braff put his song I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You in Garden State and he received money in the mail. Or that time Scrubs creator Bill Lawrence placed an acoustic version of Overkill, the best song ever written about anxiety, and more than subtly dedicated a whole episode to it with Hay himself appearing alongside the cast. 

All the stories, all the songs are utterly remarkable – even Down Under gets a look in, delivered less obviously and more in the vein of an art-folk anthem with a familiar hook. Rounding out with the stunning Waiting For My Real Life To Begin and the new one, Next Year People, Hay departs while the audience leap to their feet in appreciation showing once and for all why this man holds a place in Australian music history. Why it’s not a higher place remains bewildering, but still we have to be grateful he exists.