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DARK LIGHT TOUR 2004

DARREN HAYES DARK LIGHT TOUR PICTURES
New pictures of Darren Hayes in Concert posted in the Gallery See more pictures at willieworld.com Willie Williams was the Stage Designer for Darren's Dark Light Tour in the UK.

DARK LIGHT TOUR MERCHANDISE
Dark Light Tour merchandise now available to purchase.
See DARK LIGHT TOUR SHOP T-Shirts, Poster set: imcludes 42cm x 59.5cm Black & White Portrait shot

IPSWICH CONCERT REVIEW EVENING STAR
Hayes wows the crowd with his magical voice
With his rugged good looks , snappy dress sense and cheek bones to die for,Darren Hayes could have been the lead singer of any top boy band. But give this guy some credit .Cliche-filled ballards and cheesy covers have always been,and always will be ,the last things you associate with the former Savage Garden front man.He's made of stronger stuff than that. Performing at the Regent on Saturday,the Australian singer/songwriter proved to a sell-out crowd he has lost none of his spark since Savage Garden parted. The concert brought a ten-date tour of the Uk to an end,with a fantastic mix of his trademark thoughtful lyrics,catchy tunes and electronic sounds. Although the tour was plugging his new album The Tension And The Spark,a surprising amount of Savage Garden tracks made it on to the playlist-maybe because they were guaranteed crowd pleasers. Hits like Truly,Madly,Deeply,The Lover After Me,I Want You,Affirmation and Crash and Burn had the audience belting out the words. Hayes,a natural performer and almost Robbie Williamsesque at times,obviously loved the attention. He used his sex appeal unashamedly but somehow managed to keep it a truly dignified performance.

Since Savage Garden days,Hayes'biggest hit has been Insatiable,from his first album Spin.

His new stuff looks set to be just as popular,Darkness and Popular have already become favourites among his loyal following- the latter the subject of a hilariously camp performance as the the first number in the encore. The thing that pleased me most listening to Hayes live was the strength of his voice.

The star boasted early on in the show:"Every time you see my lips moving tonight it's actually me singing".He had every right to boast. The Regent won't have seen many better vocal performances this year. This man's voice will keep him alive on the music scene for as long as he likes.

We could soon be saying the same for the support act The Honeymoon,whose easy-listening,adult pop warmed the crowd up perfectly.A single is due in February and the band is certainly one to watch. As for Hayes,whether you were a hardened fan of his solo work,or (like me) a Savage Garden fan curious about what he could do alone,you wouldn't have been disappointed. His distintive voice makes him a remarkable talent.

NOTTINGHAM CONCERT REVIEW AND PHOTOS
Darren Hayes In Nottingham November 19th  2004
Thankyou to Rafaela of A Tribute To Darren Hayes for sharing her review of Darren's Nottingham Concert Review and Photos from 19th November 2004


EX SAVAGE GARDEN SINGER PLAYS IN CITY
Australian singing sensation Darren Hayes is expected to draw in the crowds when he plays in Bristol tonight. The former Savage Garden front man will visit the city’s Colston Hall venue as part of his Dark Light Tour 2004.

Hayes gained thousands of fans as part of Aussie group Savage Garden whose hit singles included To the Moon and Back and Affirmation. On leaving the band he returned in 2002 with a new image and successful solo album, Spin, which featured hits Insatiable and Strange Relationship.

The tour is named Dark Light to reflect the personal emotional journey described in his critically acclaimed new album The Tension and the Spark.
Source: the scotsman

NEWCASTLE CONCERT REVIEW
This wonderful review was submitted by Matt.T. Thanks so much Matt for sharing this:

Newcastle City Hall Review:
Sitting comfortably with Darren Hayes T-shirts and posters, chatting to people about the wonderful marvel that is Darren's music. A single microphone sits on a stand waiting for the angelic vocalist himself to take its command. Cue moody beats and sounds then Darren's presence englufs the entire audience as he opens up the night with Void and Darkness. A very whitty and sensual I Like The Way gets heads bopping and hands clapping. Rushes of excitment hit the crowd as Darren is so close to everyone, you could practically reach out and touch him (and many people did) but due to how personal his music has become it did not feel like a concert. it felt like you were in a room full of people at a party and Darren was your interactive entertainment that you could see, touch, get attention from, feel and accompany him on the journey he lay out on stage.

One of the cool things about his performance is that it was Darren Hayes as himself. The concert was pure, funny, exhilirating and like nothing you've ever seen before! He was on par with the audience. He was not performing he was being himself and singing to us all. His own sense of humour and whitts made everyone laugh and vocally he's getting better and better like a fine wine.

A fun part of the concert is the Savage Garden Karaoke where he pics a person from the audience and they get to choose a Savage Garden track off Darren's own iPod for Darren to sing. During this he gave out sweets and .......bananas (lol, joke of his about what the crew had to offer, whiskey, coke, sweets and bananas) in his words 'How many pop artists feed their audience? you dont see Usher doing this!

Darren also shocked the audience with Unlovable. This was the most amazing performance I have ever witnessed from Darren. The entire audience went SILENT to hear his vocals to a completley slowed down version of Unlovable. Darren was accompanied only by piano and the crowd was in a state of pure mesmeration at the crystal clear and bang on note vocals. Many tears fell at Darren's voice and the feelings he was transferring to the crowds.

Darren's entire performance was phenomenal. If you've seen him before and thought he was great, this will blow your mind. Imagine if you took all of Darrens past performances and ironed them out to perfection with Darren's own personality then you come just about close. And the ladies would also be pleased to know he gets naked! He was behind a screen though but you could see he was!!

Finishing the concert with a wonderful performance of Pop!ular and Affrimation (during these he has a neat shiney shirt and those sunglasses from the Pop!ular video, oh yes, the man has style) and ending on a personal note (with him playing the piano) of the song 'Feel'. Darren performed many songs from all 4 of his albums and it just got better and better as the show went on.

The tour is called the 'Darklight tour' and as Darren said at the end of the concert he is now in the 'light' and he really could not look any happier. Darren did not only do a concert tonight, he filled the room with his personality and from that we all took Darren away with us, in our hearts where he will always remain and we could not have felt closer to him unless we actually gave him a hug.

Darren you are the silver-lining in all that is good in this world. From our hearts we love you.

CONCERT PLAYLIST OF SONGS - LONDON'S GIG 11/17
Thanks to Else
1. Void
2. Darkness
3. I Like The Way
4. Strange Relationship
5. I Forgive You
6. Break Me Shake Me
7. Insatiable
8. I Want You - Ipod Challenge
9. Chained To You - Ipod Challenge
10. Unlovable
11. Two Beds And A Coffee Machine
12. Dublin Sky
13. Crash And Burn
14. Truly Madly Deeply *Clothes change*
15. Pop!ular
16. I Knew I Loved You
17. Affirmation
18. Feel

SHEPHERDS BUSH CONCERT REVIEW AT POP JUSTICE
Thanks to Lyn. A review of Darren Hayes concert in London at POPJUSTICE.COM. Excerpt: "The stage set was pitched somewhere between Bladerunner and Terry & June and included lots of electronic stuff, pot plants and standard lamps, as well as a strange person called Troy who appeared onstage at various points to pour Darren cups of tea".

DARREN HAYES AT MANCHESTER APOLLO SHOW REVIEW
By Gary Ryan - Manchester Online - 11/15/04
SEEN THE LIGHT: Darren Hayes
DARREN HAYES was one half of schmaltz-peddlers, Savage Garden, a sentence for which the question, Still reading? might actually have been invented.

Then came the wilderness years following his white-noise 2002 debut album, which might as well have been called Reduced To Clear.

And now? Well, Darren could teach Lazarus a thing or two about successful comebacks.

Darren's here to promote new album, The Tension And The Spark; an album that crackles and whirls like a sonic Catherine wheel. It's no Kylie Body Language-style drive-by synth-ing.

The Dark/Light Tour is visually fantastic; the set is an apartment adorned with televisions, flashing images in true Videodrome fashion.

From the moment New, Improved Hayes strode on stage on Monday, clasping a mug of coffee to the throbbing Void, he was the picture of somebody enjoying what he does.

Robert Conley
For the recent material, he's accompanied only by co-producer Robert Conley (a band later appears for the old stuff), who vaults tracks like I Like The Way into a stomping electro blowout.

Lyrically, this is danceability-with-depth, charting, as Darren puts it, his climb out of the darkness to the light.

A Savage Garden medley quite unthinkably becomes the gig's money shot as a volunteer is hauled onstage for a karaoke bout of Hold Me.

Friskily insouciant, Hayes cuts To The Moon and Back midway through, exclaiming "I've had enough of that one!" It's a revelation quite how powerful and versatile his voice actually is.

The encore sees Hayes play his ace card as the naggingly addictive Pop!ular is delivered with unabashed tongue-in-cheek campness.

Truly, madly, deeply, he's changed.

PRESS RELEASE - TOUR REVIEW SHEPHERDS BUSH LONDON
Darren Hayes - Shepherds Bush Empire
John Aizlewood
What a fascinating talent Darren Hayes is. First with Savage Garden and now as a solo artist, Brisbane's quiet superstar has sold 25 million records; yet a drone member of Girls Aloud has a higher profile.

Equally incongruous is his audience. The bulk of last night's were young girls. They waved their light sticks and screamed at this odd-looking man, a trimmer, marginally less camp Graham Norton.

In return, he unveiled such unashamedly nihilistic songs as Darkness; lines such as 'desire is the drug of the bourgeoisie' on I Like The Way and Pop!ular , and equally cynical update of Pet Shop Boys' Opportunities (Let's Make Lots Of Money).

If that wasn't enough- and clearly it wasn't, for the screaming never abated - Hayes and his three men in black spent 30 seconds covering Nine Inch Nails' Head Like A Hole in appropriately industrial fashion. Oh and the evening was wholly guitar free.

There was more to dazzle the senses and clearly Hayes understood the notion of spectacle. Televisions cluttered the stage, while, with a craftsman's touch he debunked the mystique of a rock gig: the Green Room where the band intermittently rested was actually on stage, the roadies' work with the ever changing backdrops wasn't hidden and before the encore, Hayes's clothes change was silhouetted for all to see. Simple, but brilliant.

Robbie Wiliams he ain't. In fact, right now it's hard to think of anyone subverting the mainstream quite so effectively and quite so gloriously as Darren Hayes.
Source: Sony

THE DARK LIGHT TOUR TONIGHT !
11/15/04 - Darren Hayes kicks of 'The Dark Light Tour' tonight at the Manchester Carling Apollo ! Darren says he has named his tour DARK LIGHT to reflect the personal emotional journey described in his critically acclaimed new solo album, “The Tension and the Spark”. Darren will perform a variety of songs selected from all 4 albums on his Tour. Some old songs from Savage Garden that he hasn't sang live in while. The opening act will be 'The Honeymoon'.

SHEPHERDS BUSH EMPIRE - GIG OF THE WEEK
At Capital FM - Gig Of The Week
Darren Hayes - Shepherd's Bush Empire
Date: 16th and 17th November

For all you single people who have been dating in order to rediscover a bit of fun, companionship and dare we say it love, we hope it's all going well. But if you haven't fully got the glow back in your cheeks yet, you should perhaps immerse yourself in some romantic pop. One of the best romantic singer/songwriters around to help you with this is Darren Hayes, who is coming to Shepherd's Bush for a pair of gigs in less than a week.

As one half of Savage Garden he sold 23 million records worldwide, but for three years he has been flying solo. With great hits such as 'Insatiable' he proved that he was aspiring to be an accomplished solo artist. He then released a couple of more singles, before he went back to the drawing board to find inspiration for his new album.

Well he seems to have found it and returned in September with new album, "The Tension and The Spark.' He'll be performing a lot of his tracks from this album at the concert but mixing it up with hits from his last album. No doubt he'll also be singing one or two classics from his Savage Garden days.

The tickets for Darren Hayes concerts of lovin' feeling are selling quickly however, so book now before they're gone, gone, gone!

CONCERT REVIEW
"Former Savage Garden frontman and now a solo star in his own right, Australian singer songwriter Darren Hayes has garnered acclaim for his deft ability to adapt to a myriad of styles.

Gliding effortlessly between Top 40 Savage Garden hits and the more experimental efforts characteristic of his solo albums, he manages to straddle the fine line between commercial and critical success with a soul-stirring touch. The man has repeatedly been called a genius".

THE DARK LIGHT TOUR - DARREN HAYES TOUR DATES - UK

November 15 2004 Manchester Carling Apollo
November 16 2004 London Shepherds Bush Empire
November 17 2004 London Shepherds Bush Empire
November 19 2004 Nottingham Royal Centre
November 20 2004 Newcastle City Hall
November 21 2004 Glasgow Carling Academy
November 23 2004 Bristol Colston Hall
November 24 2004 Southampton Guildhall
November 25 2004 Wolverhampton Civic
November 27 2004 Ipswich Regent

--- Opening Act: The Honeymoon ---

-- STAGE DESIGN --
Peter “Willie” Williams is planning Hayes’ tour in Britain and the United States, plus dates scheduled for Australia in February. Williams told S he was hoping Hayes’ performances would reflect the notion of an “anti-tour”, with stripped-down settings, intimate seating and close-up access to the singer himself. The first glimpse of this stage design could be seen during the Sydney Showcase when he performed inside a club in Kings Cross in front of an old television set, a table lamp and a couple of musicians, including producer Robert Conley. Hayes even played the keyboards himself, gleefully performing a note-perfect version of his soulful track Feel. Judging by the strength of his voice and the biting delivery on tracks including I Forgive You and Darkness,
Hayes is in fine form for a full-scale tour in February.


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