I just saw the Colin Hay show a few nights ago and it was Awesome! Colin Hay played a 1 hour 45 minute accustic set. He had lots of effects on his guitar. He sometimes sounded like he was playing 3 guitars at the same time, like the Edge. This was an accustic set though, but with the effects, it made for a very unique sound. I was really surprised by how good's Hay's singing is live.
Colin Hay was actually born in Scotland, and from the moment he came on stage, you hear the Scottish Accent which is funny because all this time one has been thinking Australia and then here is this thick Scottish accent.
Colin Hay was born in 1953 and moved to Australia in 1967. He then moved to Los Angeles in 1992 and has been there ever since. His wife was there and came out and sang backing vocals.
Hay played a lot of his solo stuff which I thought was great despite the fact it was the first time I had heard it. "Looking For Jack" is a great song. The Men At Work Songs he played were:
Who Can It Be Now
Be Good Johnny
Down Under
Overkill
Its A Mistake
Blue For You
My favorites were Overkill and Its a Mistake but they were all great. For Be Good Johnny he definitely used a sequencer for the main guitar riff while he played over it with his.
The place he played was rather small. It was like a medium sized dining room with maybe 50 small tables. There were about 250 people there. It was very intimate.
Hay is also a good commedian and talked a lot between songs. When the show was over, he waited out in the lobby as everyone was leaving to sign autographs and talk. I got my ticket autographed.
Now not only do I want that out of print "Two Hearts" album, but I'm also interested in his solo albums, most of which are sold on his website.
Colin Hay has not been signed to a major lable since 1990 and sales and distributes his albums since that time. The internet has certainly made this easier for him.
Its a great show and I am very impressed by Colin Hay's solo material. If you get the chance, go to this show.