Hayden
Date: January 18, 2008
Date: January 19, 2008 A One-Sided War In interviews, Hayden has described himself as more interested in the art of composing music than in the routine of touring. While that perspective is revealed in his somewhat unpolished live shows, he is nonetheless a thoroughly entertaining performer, whose expressive voice and deadpan banter are always enjoyable. In fact, he was an ideal performer to see in back-to-back concerts, as each show was sure to offer a unique and memorable experience. Opener Basia Bulat opened each night with no preamble, letting her soaring voice and stamping percussion take control of the crowd. Her choice of a spiritual opener was appropriate for the venue, the First Baptist Church, and she quickly demonstrated that the sound in the building would be excellent for both nights. After settling in, Bulat served up songs from her album, Oh, My Darling, released on Hayden's record label. While she moved capably from autoharp to acoustic guitar, her clear and powerful voice was the most notable aspect of her performance, commanding attention from the appreciative audience throughout her thirty-five minute sets. Hayden also performed solo, filling the church with his rich voice, while moving between acoustic guitar and piano. Although he was touring in support of In Field & Town, released earlier in the week, Hayden prominently included older material, with only about a third of the songs coming from the new album. He also mixed up the setlist, partly as a service to those attending both shows and partly because someone took his notes at the end of the first evening, which included details on how to play the songs. In fact, Hayden's repeated requests to have his notes returned were the comic refrain of the Saturday concert, whereas Friday night saw him make frequent references to his appearance in the Toronto Star entertainment section. After realizing how unrecognizable the other "celebrity" names were on the same photo page, he jokingly worried that he must be on the D-list, until he finally spotted "Chad from Nickelback," which seemed to reassure him. At any rate, the first night saw Hayden play "Holster," "Don't Get Down," and "Bad As They Seem," the last of which he felt the need to lyrically update for his age, with the inappropriately young object of his affection advancing from being sixteen years old to twenty-three. On each night, the new album was first represented by the simple story sketch of "Where and When" but was given a chance to truly shine when Hayden first switched to piano, with "Damn This Feeling" and "More Than Alive" sounding great. The first night saw Hayden halt an attempt at "Wide Eyes," but on Saturday he pulled out his CD booklet for assistance, making it through the song after joking that he might start wearing a monocle to help with such tricks. His preparations also helped him relearn "Trees Lounge" for the second concert, fulfilling a request from the night before. Other additions into the second set included "Stem," "Woody," "Killbear," "Between Us to Hold," and "The Van Song." "The Van Song" was played in concert for the first time ever after Hayden polled the crowd to choose between a song about a lonely security guard or one that referenced Ottawa, with the hometown pride carrying the day. While I was glad to hear something different, I was also very pleased when a heartfelt request led Hayden to interject "Lonely Security Guard" into Saturday's encore, as I consider it a definite highlight of the new album. Hayden worked his way towards the same wrap-up on each night, moving from the piano of "Bass Song" to the only electric guitar songs of the nights, "Streetcar" and "My Wife," to the acoustic closer, "Dynamite Walls." The encores each opened with "Weight of the World," although only Saturday's performance was aided by Basia Bulat. "We Don't Mind" set a quiet tone on the first night, while the aforementioned "Lonely Security Guard" was followed by a gripping cover of Leonard Cohen's "Famous Blue Raincoat" on Saturday. In each case, the night was brought to an upbeat close with the audience singalong "Carried Away." As expected, it was well worth attending both nights of Hayden's visit to Ottawa. Each performance offered its own charms, while Hayden himself was as entertaining as ever. Hayden setlist, January 18 Main Set
Hayden setlist, January 19: Main Set
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