Concert Review—

Colin Hay Cleverly Weaves

Hilarious Anecdotes, Heartfelt Music

By John Voket

It’s hard to tell if former Men At Work frontman and primary songwriter Colin Hay had the packed Ridgefield Playhouse (RPH) audience applauding more for his songs, or rolling in the aisles with laughter. Hay is just the most recent musical survivor to take the stage at the intimate theater in what can be best described as a “storytellers” setting.

In recent seasons RPH audiences have had access to similar shows from the likes of Grammy winner Marc Cohn, Yes keyboard virtuoso Rick Wakeman, folkie Michelle Shocked and ‘80s crooner Howard Jones, all who stepped from behind their instruments to reveal some of themselves and tell a few tales from the road.

One of Colin Hay’s most well received story-song combinations on the evening of April 30 involved the songwriter’s first and apparently only encounter with Jack Nicholson. He spoke of the vivid memory of hanging out with the movie star in a Los Angeles back during the heyday of Men at Work.

Nicholson joined Hay and several young ladies backstage after a show proclaiming he was a “big fan,” before disappearing with the entire group of groupies. A few minutes later, Hay came upon Nicholson standing outside the Ladies Room, flashing the lights on and off and shouting: “Hey girls, what’s taking you so long … are you taking off your clothes?”

The singer regarded the memory concluding, “There’s not too many people besides Jack Nicholson who can get away with that!” He then launched into one of his trademark solo hits, “Looking For Jack.”

While the crowd seemed very appreciative of Hay’s stories and his solo work, most were clearly there to hear his most famous hits. Recalling one show in New Jersey, where a harried looking 30-something walked to the front of the stage, glanced at his watch and said, “Hey, are you gonna do the song, or what? I got a babysitter,” Hay obliged with “Down Under.”

His set also included a hauntingly sparce “Who Can it Be Now,” and a great rendition of Men at Work’s last big charting single, “Overkill.”

That one also came with a stoned out story of when he was between his university days in Melbourne and his star turn in Men at Work, when he was working as a garbage collector. It seems he and several mates decided to rent a house together where they carried on a nonstop party.

After a few weeks, the neighbors complained not about the loud goings on, but the unkempt look of the yard. So Hay and his friends simply obtained a goat and set him out in the front yard trimming the lawn.

“And I’ll be damned if that goat wouldn’t come right in at night and watch TV,” Hay said.

He then flashed forward a decade or so when he was confronted by a fan (perhaps, again in New Jersey) who kept yelling for the “goat song.” Hay finally stopped the show to address the apparent heckler, who replied from his seat that he loved the song in which “goats appear and fade away.”

This, of course, precipitated Hay’s delivery of “Overkill,” from the Men at Work album Cargo which contains the lyric, “…ghosts appear and fade away.”

While the bulk of the crowd’s energy seemed reserved for his ‘80s material, Hay was a delight to watch and listen to. At one moment he was telling an expletive-laced tale of debauchery, making fun at the expense of some of the music industry’s biggest stars, and the next he was deep into an introspective tune accompanying himself on 6- and 12-string guitar or mandolin.

In fact, his two mandolin numbers were perhaps the best solo numbers of the set.

The first, “Maggie,” was a sad tale of first love and lost love, and the second was the equally affecting “Death Row Conversation.”

Hay showed off his guitar chops on the only cover song of the night, performing The Beatles “Norwegian Wood,” before reminding the audience he would soon be off to play backing guitar all summer long with Ringo Starr’s All-Starr Band. It will be Hay’s second tour with the former Beatle.

He recalled spending much of the first tour glancing over his shoulder at Ringo behind the drums.

“…I mean, I grew up watching Ringo on TV, and in the movies,” Hay said. “…and there he was sitting behind me playing drums to ‘Down Under.’” And I would look back at him, and he would just be sitting there playing the drums with a look on his face like, … ‘I know, I’m Ringo.’”

Other highlights of the show came from Hay’s newest release, including the show closer and title track Are You Lookin’ At Me. After opening the set with “Goin’ Somewhere,” he entertained the crowd with “What Would Bob Do.”

He also rolled out “Beautiful World,” “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You,” “Melbourne Song,” and a highly appropriate rendition of  “Conversation,” from his self-titled debut.

The Ridgefield audience appeared to head for the parking lot after enjoying a great night of music and conversation with Colin Hay. Kudos to the veteran musician for proving to be much more than an ‘80s nostalgia act by keeping everyone in the moment, and looking forward to what was in store until the last joke was told and the final note was played.