Hayden - Live From Planet Earth - Er - The West End

The abridged version: Hayden's show at the West End last night was incredible.

The long version: So last night, I hit Hayden's sold out show at the West End and was enamored the entire evening.

The charming Jenn Grant opened the show with a solo set of simple, yet enjoyable folk serenades. Anyone who willingly stands in front of 300 people armed with just a voice and a guitar automatically earns some of my respect for sheer audacity, but when the songs are actually quite good and they're the opening act, they earn my complete respect.

But I should save some praise for the headliner: Hayden.

Also performing solo, Hayden (no last name...could easily be found by googling, but I don't want to shatter the single-name artist allure) played an entertaining set that included crowd favourites 'Trees Lounge' and 'Bass Song' (the latter is, admittedly, one of my personal favs). While most of his songs are slow guitar/piano ballads occasionally complemented with a harmonica, the intimacy surrounding Hayden 's lack of tricks and confident stage presence easily won over any potential naysayers. In fact, the crowd was so thrilled with his set, that one encore wasn't enough to satiate Haydenites (this includes me). And despite complaining earlier of a headache, Hayden gladly obliged, playing a few more including mid-90s hit "Bad As They Seem", altering the lines:

Girl of my dreams
Things are as bad as they seem
She is only sixteen
That's why she is only a dream

to

Girl of my dreams
Things are as bad as they seem
She is only twenty-three
That's why she is only a dream

This caustic sense-of-humour was on display throughout the evening, added yet another layer to this phenomenal show. At one point, a fan yelled several requests during encore one (might have been encore two), prompting Hayden to reply: "This is obviously your first concert." Big laughs followed.

And if it actually was that fellow's first concert, well, then lucky him.

Current rotation: Death Cab For Cutie - Transatlanticism.