Live

Darren Hayman, Clint Playpeople, The Loves

Dan Round 08/10/2010

Sandwiched between indiepop crowd pleasers Clint Playpeople and The Loves, Darren Hayman was the main draw at this very twee affair. The Chameleon on Angel Row is currently marking itself out as indiepop central for Nottingham, and it couldn't have provided a better setting for the ex-Hefner frontman's ballsy return to the city (the last time he visited he got a beating on the way home). It was a set comprised of two contrasting halves: (1) ukulele and (2) electric guitar. Impishly brimming with humorous tales about song titles, Lacoste sweaters and turning forty, Hayman was in the kind of upbeat,
anecdotal mood that makes intimate gigs of its kind so memorable. Highlights included solo staples such as “Big Fish” and “The Crocodile”, but inevitably the singalongs were reserved for Hefner classics “The Hymn For The Alcohol” and “The Greedy Ugly People”, the sets' almost cathartic closer.