Colin Hay goes acoustic at the Kate

It will be a bittersweet evening when former Men at Work frontman Colin Hay entertains with a solo acoustic show Wednesday at the Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center.

Hay's former Work-mate and close friend, Greg Ham, was found dead last week in Australia. The pair - Hay with his mad scientist stage demeanor matched by Ham's overalls and playful-sprite energy - were certainly the iconic images during MAW's multi-platinum run.

However solemn, though, Hay is a consummate and natural performer, and those who saw his show last year in the Garde Arts Center's Oasis Room testify to a hilarious and tuneful evening of music, anecdotes and camaraderie. And, yes, he'll do "Everything I Need" and "Overkill," two of the absolute greatest songs of the New Wave era.

- RICK KOSTER

Colin Hay, 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Katharine Hepburn Cultural Arts Center, 300 Main St., Old Saybrook; $35; 1-877-503-1286, thekate.org.