Darren Hayes - The Secret's Out Tour

I’ve known of the immense talents of Darren Hayes ever since I first heard Savage Garden and have always loved his voice and his lyrics!

So when I heard my friend Sazz had a ticket going spare for his concert in Brighton, I snapped it right up!

Sazz doesn’t live in the area, so came down the night before and stayed over for the weekend, so we could attend the concert and squeal together. :)

Until this Saturday just gone, I never had the chance to go to a Darren Hayes concert (or a Savage Garden one, for that matter). Now I have, I feel utterly blessed that I was able to be there and witness that fantastic voice in person!

Before the concert started, we headed to the merchandise table. I ended up buying a signed vinyl single of Bloodstained Heart. I have a turntable and a small collection of records, along with a small collection of autographed items and an enjoyment of how music sounds on vinyl, so it seemed like the natural choice :)

Opening Act: The Candle Thieves

The show started with a 30 minute set performed by The Candle Thieves, who are a pretty awesome and fun band. Their music has a bit of a retro sound and incorporates keyboards and a number of more unusual instruments along with the standard guitar/drum/bass combination. At one point the keyboardist had a plastic bin, and a bit later a harmonica!

They were truly entertaining and after the concert I ended up buying their most recent album, Balloons.

Main Act: Darren Hayes

Before Darren Hayes or his band appeared on stage, a piece of classical music was played through the speakers. I think it was No.29 (Finale) from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, a gorgeous piece of music.

After that tension-raising piece of music, the show began properly, with the band and backing vocalist walking onto the stage, and finally Darren, armed with his LED umbrella. He immediately launched into God Walking into the Room, a song from his most recent album, Secret Codes and Battleships.

Darren sang a great variation of songs from his works, including Savage Garden songs. This probably made me the happiest of all, since when I was a teenager I utterly lamented that I couldn’t go to a Savage Garden concert!

The songs he performed from that era were some of my favourites too, such as To the Moon and Back and I Don’t Know You Anymore. The performance of the latter song was particularly powerful!)

A few times, Darren stopped to talk to the audience, explaining who he’d written songs for, sharing anecdotes, and being ever grateful for all of the people that have supported him in different ways to get him where he is now. He is a very buoyant, energetic performer and he definitely loves being in the spotlight, but through these little interludes it was clear what a genuinely nice guy he is. :)

Here's a YouTube video I found from the concert! This was the final song of the set.

The full extent of Darren’s musical talent is far more apparent when seeing him perform live than on a recording. He sounds fantastic on CD or mp3, but live in concert his vocal range and strength are utterly staggering!

The band and backing vocalist were also fantastic; I’d make a note of their names here but my memory is terrible for things like that!

Darren Hayes is one of those musicians with the ability to truly perform, to dance around and sing with all his heart and let the emotion behind his music reach out and touch the hearts of everybody listening. I alternately got goose bumps and found myself ready to tear up at his performance. It was an utterly fantastic, memorable concert!