Darren Hayman is a dying breed, the true indie pop performer. Before his set he sat patiently at the merchandise table talking to fans (including me) and selling copies of albums from his back catalogue.
On stage he is an unassuming figure, but one with great presence. He’s witty and self-depreciating but also a real performer who sings and plays with passion and enthusiasm.
The set tonight was largely taken from his most recent album Pram Town and the forthcoming Essex Arms. The band had a slight country feel with the guitar, bass and drums supplemented by banjo and fiddle. This suited the songs down to the ground with selections from Pram Town, the title track and ‘Out Of My League’, being early highlights.
One of Hayman’s strengths as a performer is that he has a clear way with words and writes songs that have something to say to the audience. This means that when he plays songs from his forthcoming album and chooses to finish the set with b-sides from his Hefner days it doesn’t matter. I didn’t know all the songs but I could immediately connect with the subject matter and the humour within the songs.
He closed the set with a spirited rendition of ‘The Wu Tan Clan’ by his short lived Hefner follow up band, The French. The band left and returned to the stage almost immediately to play a single encore, Hayman leaving the stage before the song had finished, returning to the merchandise stall.
The relatively short length of the set is the only criticism I would make of the performance, but it is always nice to be left wanting more.
9/10
by Dorian Rogers
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