On The Town:

It was a family affair, both in the audience and on stage as Colin Hay Colin Hay and his wife, Cecilia Noël, took to the stage of the Starlight Bowl on Sunday evening. Early arrivals who staked out prime picnicking spots on the lawn included Art, Jamie and Sophia Martin, Jeanne and Alfredo Arzubiaga, Timithie and Nicholas Norman, John and Joelene Sevey, and Clara Lee. In the box seats below the lawn, Lynne, Cindy and Cathy Beaumont joined Tracye Cavanaugh in a pre-concert toast while wine bottles were being uncorked in the adjacent box of Sara Viola, Gino Cuellar, Dena Troxell and Joe Cusumano.

A stickler for keeping things on time, Recreation Services Manager Kris Smith, who coordinates the Starlight Bowl concerts, gave the signal for the festivities to begin and Cecilia Noël flamboyantly pranced on stage in a hot red dress along with her 15-piece band, the Wild Clams.

The Peruvian-born Noël has been singing professional since she was 8. A child television star in Peru, she honed her talents during her teen years by studying voice, violin and piano in Argentina and Germany. In the 1980s, the encouragement of the legendary jazz musician Stan Getz brought Noël to New York, where she performed as a dancer with the boy band Menudo. She later relocated to Los Angeles, where she established herself as the lead singer of the Wild Clams, who blend salsa, soul and urban beats into the pulsating sounds of SalSoul.

Following Noël’s electrifying opening performance, as the sun began to dip behind the bowl, the audience settled in for the evening’s headliner. Colin Hay, best known as the frontman and principal songwriter of the 1980s pop sensation Men at Work, is the creative genius behind such hits as “Down Under,” “Who Can It Be Now?” and “Overkill.” One of the first pop icons of the video era, Hay and his Men at Work mates became known for their humorous videos that were omnipresent in the early days of MTV. When Men at Work disbanded in 1985, Hay launched a successful solo career. He continues to write, record and tour and is a recurring member of former-Beatle Ringo Starr’s All-Star Band.