Some musicians give solid performances that go off without a hitch but sound like you put their CDs in a changer and hit shuffle. Hayden is not one of those.
Though he said he was having a bad humour day, it didn’t show in his performance Monday night at the Aladdin Theater in Portland as he rocked a small but knowledgeable—and enthusiastic—crowd at the venerable venue.
Hayden’s trademark self-deprecating sense of humour was on full display when, as he tuned his guitar between songs, someone from the audience asked him what the “Lite-Brite thing” was on the stage behind him.
After retorting “it’s a prop,” he clarified by describing how he took a test tube rack, installed stained glass and a light and turned it into art. “That last part is questionable,” he quickly added.
Later, when someone else yelled “you’re better than Dylan!” Hayden simply asked “Jakob?”
The current tour is supporting the album In Field & Town, which was released in the U.S. in March. The set included many of the new songs like “Weight of the World” and “Worthy of Your Self Esteem,” and he had the audience clapping rhythmically throughout “Where and When.” Though the album is generally lighter and more melodic than his earlier work, most of the renditions played in Portland rocked. That was generally good, but the irony in “Lonely Security Guard” was lost as the punch line was drowned by guitars.
Haley Bonar (from St. Paul, Minn.) is the opening act for most of the dates on this tour, but luck was not with her Monday night. She broke a string as she re-tuned her guitar for a performance of “Us,” and though she made it through the rest of her set (“Fuck the e-string, who needs it?”), it seemed a bit awkward. A couple of songs later, when a drum and cymbal fell over in the middle of a song, all she could do was laugh it off. “I don’t know what happened, a drum just hit me in the ass!”
Bonar and her band joined Hayden for the encore at the end of the night, and played a tambourine solo as Hayden introduced his band.
Hayden will be giving an in-store performance tonight (June 24) at Easy Street Records in Seattle, followed by a concert at the Tractor Tavern. He says he hopes to be back in the Northwest in early October. Keep your eye on the calendar for details.
