So about a month ago now I saw Colin Hay. I of course knew he was from Men at Work, but had never had an interest in them or him beyond the hits I knew from Gold 104. I had seen Ashley post about him a bunch of times, and sing his praises. And then last year, I went on a few dates with a girl who was a big fan. We were on a date one night and comparing playlists we’d made, and she had a sad one, and I saw a song title on there that piqued my interest… “I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You”. Now having gone through my first breakup recently, and grieving the loss of a beautiful seven-year relationship, with a person with whom I still have a great deal of care and affection for, that song title spoke to me. I listened to the song and was deeply moved by it, and its melancholy tone… it’s not a sad song at its core, it’s just reflective. Has Nick Drake vibes. There’s some humour to it as well. (Doing some research I found out that he is singing to alcohol, having been an alcoholic in the past and sober for decades.)
Anyhoo, I saw that he was playing at Hamer Hall here in Melbourne, a large concert hall, with his band, and I got a ticket. Hearing him, I didn’t realise just how Scottish he is, given Men at Work are such a beloved Aussie band. But that’s probably part of their deceit, a bit, I mean you look at Down Under and it’s pretty clearly a song written from an outsider’s perspective. Funny how we’ve all grown to love it as a classic Aussie track.
Hit the stage with a few Men at Work songs I didn’t recognise, then a cover of I Just Don’t Know What to Do with Myself. I realised pretty quickly that this man is an absolutely incredible frontman. His gently self-deprecating banter in between songs is just so good. Stories from his life, his past band, where he went after Men at Work ended, stories from a life of music-making. He’s such a delight and so funny, absolutely added heaps to the value for money. I love when artists can create an overall narrative when they play a live set, and he’s a master.
His solo tracks are also really fucking good. I’ve come away from the concert feeling that there is a lot more to his music and Men at Work’s music than Down Under. Come Tumblin’ Down is a good pop track, Can’t Take This Town has some bite, Beautiful World is gorgeous, as is The Sea of Always and Next Year People and Now and the Evermore, which is quite recent I think. Frozen Fields of Snow was probably my favourite track that I didn’t already know, the lyrics paint an awesome picture. For Melbourne Song, he brought out his sister to sing with him, which was just lovely. His lyrics are simple, but also portray a life well-lived, wisdom. They’re funny, too. As for Men at Work songs, Down By the Sea was the highlight of songs I didn’t already know, and It’s a Mistake has become a very fast new favourite. What a track that is: an emotional, yearning jangly guitar line, engaging third-person lyrics. I love his vocals, too, they’ve got a lot of feeling to them… they’re still in majestic shape, he still sounds very much like himself and can still really carry long notes despite his age.
After Melbourne Song, a cover of Waterloo Sunset, which he introduces as one of the greatest pop songs ever written. I didn’t know it, I don’t think, and yeah, it’s stunning. Straight on to my ‘Happy’ playlist. Love Ray Davies’ soft vocals on the original. He’s great at covers, too. There was a song called Driving with the Brakes On that I adored, it’s by Del Amitri, I didn’t know them, but his cover was fantastic and the original is too. Great melancholy track.
His wife, Cecilia Noël, is in the band, he tells a great story of meeting her, and her band, The Wild Clams. They do a cover of her track, Perro Callejero. Great fun.
Who Can it Be Now, Overkill and Down Under back to back to back is a bloody delight. Who Can it Be Now is just so good, that fucking sax man, and Overkill is great too.
He closes with Waiting for My Real Life to Begin, another track accompanied by a beautiful story full of wisdom. I have to give a special shout-out to this track, and more so I Just Don’t Think I’ll Ever Get Over You. That track was played full band (by the way, his whole band is South American, might even be just Peruvian), which I felt detracted a little from what I love of the song, but in another sense perhaps the sheer intimacy of the studio version would have been lost in a big hall. Still, it was very special to hear and sing along after how hard I’ve fallen for it. And Real Life was a gorgeous and perfect closer, it’s so wistful and hopeful.
A delightful evening in the company of a delightful man. And I got the setlist at the end!! First setlist I’ve ever gotten.
