Hayden played a set catering to both old and new fans, featuring songs from albums like 2004's Elk-Lake Serenade, 1998's The Closer I Get and, obviously, a majority of songs from the new record. Each selection was met with applause from the crowd. Those sitting bopped their heads along to the slightly poppy folk rock and flowed forth from the stage while those standing made no qualms about shaking what their mamas gave them.

Hayden's stage banter also worked in his favor. He cracked jokes about Rocky, his Philadelphia audience's fictional hero, reminisced about the poor choice in having A&W for lunch and recounted the excitement of the band hearing "Worthy of Your Esteem" while eating breakfast at IHOP that morning. He mentioned that some of the band members had never been to an IHOP, so he suggested heading there. "I don't get played on the radio anywhere, so to hear me on IHOP FM was huge." He followed the poppy "Worthy of Your Esteem" with another radio-friendly track, "The Hazards of Sitting Beneath Palm Trees" from 1998's The Closer I Get, which was met with wild applause from the crowd.

Hayden and company play a tight set of new and old songs, alike, keeping in mind longtime fans. I highly recommend making it to a Hayden show as he and the band make their way towards the West Coast through the end of the month (dates below). --- PopWreck(oning)