An Evening With Nick Seymour

Tonight Fran, Mary and I met up at Allans Billy Hyde on Bourke Street for an unique opportunity to listen to Nick Seymour of Crowded House talk about his career in music and as an artist. They had rows of chairs set up in the store for the 100 or so people lucky enough to grab a free ticket to this special event.

Nick was his usual lovely and entertaining self as he started the evening by talking about his upbringing, going to art school, and the local Melbourne music scene in the late 1970s and 1980s. One of his early band experiences was with his brother Mark and other housemates in a band called Bam, but it came to a end when Mark took the songs they had worked on to his other band The Jetsonnes (an early version of Hunters & Collectors), which had a bass player so Nick wasn't needed.

Nick was already friends with Paul Hester, so when he and Neil Finn announced they were starting a new band out of the ashes of Split Enz, Nick was determined to get a shot. He crashed the Enz farewell party, cornered a drunk Neil and got him to agree to let Nick audition for the band. The rest is history.

As part of Nick's talk he took us through the bass parts of different Crowded House songs utilising the rehearsal tracks that Neil and his son Elroy put together to help Nick rehearse for Neil's solo festival shows that they played over the past week. We were treated to portions of "Don't Dream It's Over," "It's Only Natural," "Fall At Your Feet," "Sister Madly," and "Pineapple Head" as someone asked a question about it. He also played a bit of "Amsterdam" as an example of a song he was initially unsure about but felt came together in the end, and "Better Be Home Soon" as an example of rises and falls he added to baseline instead of just playing it straight. Nick said that his favorite songs were those where he gets to sing and play bass at the same time.

Nick answered many questions from the audience. He briefly touched on some of his artwork, including the Crowded House album covers and original stage costumes with the painted jackets. He said those came about due to his horror at Neil and Paul turning up to rehearsals in slippers and Neil wearing a cardigan. He discussed the band's input into their earlier videos, where "Don't Dream It's Over" featured rooms representing a space from each of their childhoods, and Nick designed the set for "World Where You Live" as a moving room (which gave Paul motion sickness). A young member of the audience asked about the impact of Paul's death, and Nick spoke quite honestly about his sense of grief and abandonment

He spoke about live shows, including playing the Sydney Opera House both 20 years ago and last November, one of his favorite gigs (Byron Bay Bluesfest) and worst gig (Coachella playing before Rage Against The Machine to a hostile crowd that threw a water bottle that hit Neil's mike stand). Nick also told a very funny tidbit that when Neil feels they've had a really great show he will stand around completely naked while changing in the backstage room and chat away about the gig.

Someone asked about the chances of Crowded House recording again, and Nick felt that it will happen eventually - both by revisiting sessions they did with Nick Launay a few years ago and doing new material. After the talk Nick was kind enough to stick around and sign autographs for people. I got him to sign my Chris Bourke Crowded House: Something So Strong book. He even wrote a line to rhyme with one Paul had previously written. Now all I need is Neil's signature. Nick was so gracious with everyone and I'm so happy I got the opportunity to listen to him speak for a couple of hours.

Crowded House Encore- Sydney Opera House

For Crowded House 2016 marks the 30th anniversary of the formation of the band as well as the 20th anniversary of their Farewell to the World show at the Sydney Opera House (which I attended along with over 100,000 other people). To celebrate these milestones and their induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame, the band not only remastered and released deluxe editions of all their studio albums, but also announced four exclusive Encore concerts on the Sydney Opera House Forecourt from 24-27 November. These shows sold out super quick as they were limited to 6,000 tickets per night. I was fortunate enough to attend the Friday, Saturday and Sunday night shows, with assorted friends joining me on each night.

Opening each evening was Sydney's own Kirin J Callinan. Having seen Kirin live before I knew it was going to be interesting to see how the crowd reacted to his set. He was a vision on stage with his bleached mullet and tight mustard tank top and grey slacks on Friday night, and sunset colored ombré suit on Saturday and Sunday nights. Joined by a band for most of his set I thought he kept the creepy factor toned down. His singing was quite strong and the band sounded good. The highlight of each night was his last song "The Toddler," which he did solo, shirtless and without any music. He asked the audience to use its imagination as he sang and danced to the beat in his head. It was amazing to watch and by the end I thought he had won over the majority of the crowd.

It's been six long years since Crowded House last toured Australia, and this mini run of shows was quite an exciting prospect for me as a lifelong fan of the band. Each night I managed to stand between 5-10 rows back on the middle-left side of the stage, with excellent views and thankfully a pretty attentive crowd around me who were there to enjoy the concert. Against another amazing backdrop created by Noel Crombie and Sally Mill, each show began with solemn instrumental music and a group of people in brown monk robes slowly wandering around the stage before the band members revealed themselves.

The band started the set each night with "Mean To Me," and after Neil sang "... and the sound of Te Awamutu had a truly sacred ring" he paused with his arm outstretched in the air under the spotlight. The crowd was into these shows from the very start singing along to every song, especially older tracks such as "Something So Strong" "Fall At Your Feet" and "Pineapple Head." I loved hearing one of my all time favorites "Whispers And Moans" each night, and the atmospheric core of the set was the one-two punch of "Fingers Of Love" and "Private Universe," which on Saturday night also included some impromptu Sydney fireworks. It was also good for songs off the last two albums to get an airing as they played "Don't Stop Now" and "Either Side Of The World," where Nick showcased his sashaying skills.

The great thing about Crowded House shows is that you never quite know what may happen or which songs will appear in the set from night to night due to their extensive back catalogue and audience requests (which on Saturday night came via an onslaught of paper airplanes from the front rows a couple of songs in). Between Friday and Saturday night's shows alone there were seven different songs added to the set list. Songs that were played on one or two nights included "When You Come," "Not The Girl You Think You Are," "Nails In My Feet," a very moody "Into Temptation," another of my favorites "Kare Kare," "Hole In The River" (with The Parting Glass at the end), "In My Command," and the rare but much loved "Recurring Dream." Paul Hester was remembered with dedications of "Pour Le Monde" on Friday night and "Italian Plastic" on Sunday. Paul's spirit was certainly channelled during "Sister Madly" with Neil changing around the lyrics and on Saturday night Neil and Nick telling a story mid-song about seeing The Velvet Underground in Paris and sharing a hotel bed.

Tim Finn joined the band towards the end of the set each night and for a bit of the encore. The energy really lifted when he arrived on stage to play "It's Only Natural," "Chocolate Cake" (with Neil on piano and an extended call and response with the crowd), "Four Seasons In One Day" and "Weather With You." On Friday and Saturday night we were treated to "How Will You Go," which I'm sure hasn't been played live since the early 1990s. Another special treat on Saturday night was hearing them play the majority of "There Goes God," during which someone threw a black bra onto the stage. This reminded Neil of Paul saying that Crowded House were a "fun, but safe" band. "Only the top half" said Neil as he threw the bra at Nick, who proceeded to headbutt it. Neil also talked about how Tim was a very encouraging big brother who told him he could do anything (and didn't ever beat him up).

The main set closed each night with a huge sing along to "Don't Dream It's Over" (Matt tapping on the perspex wall between him and Mark on Friday night was pretty funny) and "Distant Sun," which was one of my highlights of the shows due to the blistering extended guitar solos by Neil and Mark. For the encore the band emerged onto the stage by running out in a bit of a race each night. Besides the 1-2 songs played with Tim, they did "World Where You Live," and on Saturday night after persistent requests from a member of the crowd they attempted "Now We're Getting Somewhere" with no rehearsal (it wasn't that bad). The closing song each night was "Better Be Home Soon." On Sunday night Neil threw in a verse of Carole King's "I Feel The Earth Move" before the final extended crowd singalong to "... home soon." Then we were treated to planned fireworks behind the Sydney Opera House before the band took their final bow and left the stage.

These three shows were absolutely amazing, and it was such a joy to see them play together again and manage the 2 1/2 hour long sets each night. My favorite show of the three I attended was Saturday night as that was the loosest, most classic Crowded House live experience. I enjoyed the little things each night such as Neil and Nick slotting into their normal moves across the stage together, and Neil resting his head on band members' shoulders mid-song. The next generation of Finns were there to assist on stage with Neil's son Elroy on guitar and Tim's son Harper on keyboards for some songs. It was also nice to see some of the old crew members like Arlo and Dugald return to do these shows.

We hung around afterwards and Mary and I managed to get a photo with Nick on Friday night, and on Saturday I was able to tell Mark how much I enjoyed his ARIA Hall of Fame speech where he joked Crowded House are really an American band (an argument I've been making since Matt joined the band). While this may have been the final farewell, Neil did say "And we will meet again" so that is promising. Hopefully it's not another six years before they return to play live again.

Music, Melbourne + Me

This afternoon I had the pleasure of checking out the Music, Melbourne + Me exhibition at the RMIT Gallery.  It not only celebrates 40 years of Mushroom Records but also the Melbourne music scene.  As an added bonus a group of us got a guided tour through the exhibition by Peter Green, who has worked with many Mushroom artists including Skyhooks, Split Enz and Crowded House.

As you enter the lobby you see the Pegasus horse from Kylie Minogue's Aphrodite tour.  The first room we went into had various concert posters on the wall along with a huge Skyhooks stage backdrop and a sculpture hanging in the middle of the room that had assorted videos and album covers projected on it.  Along with some old Crowded House and Split Enz posters was a wooden Crowded House burning building with wings sign, which is one of two in existence.

The next room was dedicated to the Melbourne music scene and lists every single music venue past and present on the walls.  There are posters and live photos from different local gigs throughout the years, including the SLAM rally sign.  Another room in the exhibition is dedicated to Michael Gudinski and Ian "Molly" Meldrum with a wall of gold records, some really rare memorabilia from both their collections and a replica desk so the room looks like Michael's office at Mushroom.

The best space in the exhibition though is the costume room, which has lots of great pieces from Kylie Minogue, Skyhooks, Split Enz and Crowded House.  It was such a privilege to see them up close, especially Nick Seymour's artwork on the Crowded House items.  My favorite was probably the iconic red jacket that Neil Finn wore on the cover of Crowded House's debut album.  The other really amazing item was the original album artwork for Conflicting Emotions by Split Enz, which was painted by Noel Crombie.  I had no idea it was such a big painting.

Overall it was a great tour and entertaining to hear all of Peter's stories around working with the artists and the history behind some of the pieces in the exhibition.  If you are in Melbourne check it out (especially if you are a Split Enz or Crowded House fan).  Music, Melbourne + Me runs until 22 February 2014 and it's free!

Fave Albums: Crowded House - Temple Of Low Men

My favorite band of all time is Crowded House, so it's only fitting that I start this fave albums series with them.  Their second album, Temple Of Low Men, was released in 1988 and produced by Mitchell Froom.  The cover features Nick Seymour's beautiful artwork, and believe it or not was named after a euphemism for female genitalia (there were also thoughts of calling it Mediocre Follow-Up).

The album starts off with the slightly spooky "I Feel Possessed" before you hear the voice of disgraced televangelist Jimmy Swaggart begging for forgiveness at the start of "Kill Eye."  Neil Finn's lyrical imagery is strongest in songs such as "Into Temptation" and "In The Lowlands," while his angst about gaining fame after their debut album is detailed in "Mansion In The Slums" (The taste of success only lasts you half an hour or less, but it loves you when it comes.)

Temple Of Low Men is a cohesive album and contains hallmarks of Crowded House throughout, whether it be the soaring chorus in "When You Come," the good humor (as well as Paul Hester's excellent brush work) on "Sister Madly," or the song destined to be a crowd sing-along, the closing track "Better Be Home Soon."

The US tour for this album was the first time I saw Crowded House live (and my first concert ever).  My teenage heart swooned when I smiled at Neil from the pit of The Warfield Theatre and he smiled back at me.  It's been love ever since.

Favorite Lyric: Love this life, don't wait till the next one comes ("Love This Life")

Favorite Song: "When You Come"

Crowded House- Intriguer Tour

Last night after viewing Kevin's exhibition I headed down to Rod Laver Arena for the sole Melbourne date of Crowded House's Australian tour in support of their latest album Intriguer.  I had the best tickets I have ever had in my life for this concert- front row and center.  The opening act for the evening was the lovely Oh Mercy.  They started with "Hold Out Your Hand" and played other unreleased songs in their set including "Confessions," "On The Run" and "Stay Please Stay."  It was good to hear "In My Stride," "Broken Ears," "Lay Everything On Me" and "Keith St," which has just been released as an EP.  They closed their set with "Get You Back" and seemed to get a good reception from the building crowd.  It's such great exposure for them to be on this tour and I hope they gain some new fans along the way.

Crowded House took to the stage and started with "I Feel Possessed" and then launched into "When You Come."  The whole set was a fairly even mix of songs from all their albums.  Neil and Nick were in good humor and had amusing banter going on throughout the night.  I thought the tracks from Intriguer really stood out- "Amsterdam," "Either Side of the World," "Archer's Arrows" and "Isolation."  Of the older songs I was very happy they played "Whispers and Moans," "Love You 'Til The Day I Die," and "Locked Out."  The majority of the crowd stayed seated for most of the show, except for the two people next to me and some girl behind us who decided to jump over their chairs and stand up front with them.  This was my one annoyance during the night as she occasionally obscured my excellent view at times (I should have called security on her).  Everyone on the floor did eventually get up for "It's Only Natural" and stayed standing throughout the encore.

As expected at a Crowdies gig, some songs took unexpected turns.  In the middle of "Private Universe" Neil started to sing a snippet of "Black and White Boy."  During the encore, "Weather With You" became an epic medley with them covering portions of Frankie Goes To Hollywood's "Relax," Hot Chocolate's "You Sexy Thing," and Mark Hart doing Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Born on the Bayou."  Some people in the crowd started to sing "Mean to Me" and the band picked it up in the second verse and completed the song.  The final number of their over two hour set was "Better Be Home Soon."  It was good to finally see them live again after two years and hopefully Melbourne won't have to wait so long for a return visit.

Music Video Star

I got an interesting message from Mary yesterday alerting me to the fact that she, Tash and I appear in The Basics latest video for "Better." This was filmed at the last night of their Northcote Social Club residency in June, and is the first single off their new live album /ðə'bæzɪtʃ/, which is available now for free download.


Amazingly, this is not my first appearance in a music video. I am also in the Crowded House video for "It's Only Natural" in a crowd shot from a free show they played in Golden Gate Park in 1991 at the 2:22 minute mark (center of front row, black top). Blink and you'll miss me!

Musical Interlude: Finn

The Finn family is crazy talented and I love them- especially Neil.

Split Enz: "One Step Ahead"


Crowded House: "When You Come"


The Finn Brothers: "Only Talking Sense"


Neil Finn: "She Will Have Her Way"


Tim Finn: "Out of This World"


Betchadupa: "My Army of Birds and Gulls"


Liam Finn and Eliza Jane: "Long Way To Go"

Homebake 2008 and Sydney

Friday night Tash and I flew up to Sydney for Homebake, a festival which features all Australian bands. On Saturday morning we grabbed some breakfast and then walked to The Domain. There was a brief wait in line before we eventually got into the venue. It was a very hot day- 35/95 degrees! After stopping to buy some bottled water we headed to The Dome stage for our first act of the day, The Holidays. Next up on the stage was Melbourne female duo Dash & Will in their first ever festival appearance. Their set was a lot of fun as they used tennis rackets to lob lollies into the audience and brought out a beach ball for the crowd to toss around.

We then headed to the Main Stage for another Melbourne band I've been wanting to see for a while, Eddy Current Suppression Ring. They played a great set of their old school punk songs, and I really enjoyed hearing "Which Way To Go." After a wander to refill our water bottles, we went back to The Dome stage for my favorites Little Red. They played a high energy set with a mix of old and new songs and had the crowd singing along. I was very happy to hear "Lazy Boy" and it was good to see such a positive response to the boys outside of Melbourne. After retreating to the shade under a tree to cool down a bit we were ready for End of Fashion. Their set was really good and included their first big hit "Oh Yeah" and the single "Fussy" off their latest album.

British India was our next act on the Main Stage. They really had the crowd going with their indie rock tunes. Unfortunately we were right in the sun for their set, so my goal of avoiding sunburn failed (even though I had on sun block). Besides the multiple stages, Homebake also set up a Cinema Pavilion to show a variety of short films. After grabbing some food we headed down to enjoy some films and relax in the dark for an hour and a half. My favorite of all the shorts we saw was "Mankind Is No Island" by Jason van Genderen. It's a really moving and thought provoking film.


When we emerged from the cinema the weather had gotten much cooler, which was a big relief. We headed back to The Dome stage for Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson. They mostly played songs from their album together "Rattlin' Bones." They are both great songwriters and musicians, and Kasey was very funny and sweet with her song introductions. "The Devil's Inside My Head" was stomping bluegrass number that had the crowd dancing. When their set finished we made our way through the crowd to the Main Stage for dance act Sneaky Sound System. They played a lot of their hits including "Pictures," "UFO," "I Love It," and "Kansas City." The crowd was totally into it and singing and dancing along.

The headline act of Homebake was Crowded House. Tash and I got as close to the stage as we could. I thought the set was a bit flat in comparison to the other shows earlier in the week. Neil had a bit of a raspy voice and the sound from where we were in the crowd was a bit muddy and hard to hear. Their set list probably needed a few more energetic hits in it considering this was a young festival crowd. The big hits though went down really well and the band were nearly drowned out by the singing of the crowd. I also got to hear "Hole in the River" which hadn't been played in Melbourne. In the encore some idiot threw their flip flop and hit Neil, which really pissed him off. He told the guy if he threw up his other shoe and took off his pants that he might let him stay. Security ended up carting the guy away and the show continued. They finished up the night with "Better Be Home Soon" and had the crowd hold up their lit mobile phones in the air- the modern equivalent of the lighter. All in all it was a fantastic day of music.

Today Tash and I started off with breakfast at a cafe along Cockle Bay Wharf, then had a wander around Darling Harbour. Next we caught a bus to The Rocks and checked out their Sunday market. After ice cream at Circular Quay we walked over to the Opera House as it began to rain. We hid for a bit inside the Opera House and once the weather cleared headed back outside. We spent some time at QVB having coffee, cakes and conversation before heading off to the airport for our flight home.

Crowded House

Over the past two nights I have been to The Forum Theatre to see Crowded House play their first Melbourne shows in over a year.

2 December
Anika Moa was the opening act and she played a half hour set. Like her album launch a month ago she flew a couple of her band members over from New Zealand. She was as funny as always and the dub version of “Youthful” with her freestyle rap in the middle went down very well with the audience. “My Old Man” and “Dreams In My Head” were also personal highlights.

Crowded House came out onto an unlit stage with headlamps on and launched into “Locked Out.” Unfortunately when Neil went to take the headlamp off he cut his forehead and started to bleed a bit. He thought that was pretty rock ‘n’ roll. The entire show was an epic 2 hours and 45 minutes long with multiple encores. The band included additional musicians Don McGlashen and Elroy Finn on certain numbers. They played five new songs throughout the evening, which sounded fantastic and gave me a lot of hope for the new album. I especially loved “Isolation” for its jangly guitars and “Lucky” for the amazing soaring chorus. Some old classics were also played that I haven’t heard live in a while: “Chocolate Cake,” “Love You ‘Til The Day I Die” (with You Am I’s Davey Lane on guitar), “Whispers and Moans” and “Fingers of Love.”

There was lots of banter and storytelling throughout the night. Neil was perplexed about the fact the balcony area of The Forum had been walled off since the last time he was there, which led to a microphone being passed around the audience to find out when that had happened and into a broader question time with the band. One guy and his band mates requested “Private Universe” to be played and ended up on stage playing and singing with the band (along with a few other audience members).

This show reminded me of the Crowded House shows of old with the audience interactions and sing-a-longs as well as funny stories or comments leading to musical improvisations. When coming out for the second encore Neil took to the drums and Matt to the keyboards as they and the rest of the band had a bit of jam. We even got a Matt drum solo at one point (which was very good- he adds such a drive to all the songs). I felt this was the first time that Neil has been able to play in Melbourne and not have the ghost of Paul Hester looming over him (although we did get a brief verse and chorus of “This is Massive”). It was such an amazing show and a great reminder of why I still love this band after all these years.

Set List
1. Locked Out
2. World Where You Live
3. Isolation (new)
4. Turn It Round (new)
5. Pineapple Head
6. Amsterdam (new)
8. Don't Stop Now
9. People Are Like Suns
10. Chocolate Cake
11. Not The Girl You Think You Are
12. Heaven That I'm Making
13. Lucky (new)
14. Fall At Your Feet
15. Whispers And Moans
16. Love You ‘Til The Day I Die
17. When You Come
_______________
18. It's Only Natural
19. Cars Collide (new)
20. Private Universe
21. Distant Sun
22. Weather With You
_____________
23. Instrumental Jam/This is Massive
24. Fingers Of Love
25. Throw Your Arms Around Me
26. Better Be Home Soon

3 December
What a difference a day makes. Tonight’s show was a mellower affair that only went for 1 hour and 50 minutes- almost one hour less than last night. I think the main reason was because the crew had to load out for the show in Sydney tomorrow night. I had a great position near the front off to the right side of the stage. There was a lot less banter and Neil commented that he had run out of things to say after the night before. It was a heavy guitar driven set with the appearance of “In My Command” and “Silent House.” We got even more new songs which also sounded good and “Italian Plastic” by request from the audience. The funniest moment of the night was Nick and Matt acting out the opening verse of “Something So Strong.” It was so great to see Crowded House in a smaller venue again instead of the big arenas they played when they were here last year.

Set List
1. When You Come
2. World Where You Live
3. 789 (new)
4. Fall At Your Feet
5. Don't Stop Now
6. Lucky (new)
7. Four Seasons In One Day
8. Inside Out (new)
9. In My Command
10. Silent House
11. Either Side (new)
12. Amsterdam (new)
13. Don't Dream It’s Over
14. Distant Sun
15. Locked Out
_____________
16. Something So Strong
17. Mean To Me
18. Better Things (new)
19. Italian Plastic
20. Weather With You
21. Better Be Home Soon

Crowded House

On Thursday and Friday night I was at Rod Laver Arena enjoying Crowded House in concert. The opening acts were Irish band The Walls and Augie March. The first night we had seats at the back of the arena, but last night we were on the floor close to the stage. Both nights were fantastic and the set lists were very diverse. These arena shows could have easily been a greatest hits affair, so I was really glad that the band played so many songs off the new album.

Set List Night 1
Private Universe
Mean To Me
Don't Stop Now
Fall At Your Feet
Whispers and Moans
Heaven That I'm Making
She Called Up
Hole In The River
When You Come
A Sigh
Silent House
Don't Dream It's Over
Pour Le Monde
Distant Sun
Weather With You
***********************
Locked Out
Something So Strong
World Where You Live
***********************
Fingers Of Love
Four Seasons In One Day
Better Be Home Soon

Set List Night 2
Private Universe
Everything Is Good For You
Say That Again
Fall At Your Feet
Don't Stop Now
You're The One To Make Me Cry
Walked Her Way Down
Love You 'Til The Day I Die
When You Come
Silent House
Italian Plastic
Don't Dream It's Over
People Are Like Suns
Distant Sun
Weather With You
************************
Locked Out
Something So Strong
Four Seasons In One Day
************************
Pineapple Head
Better Be Home Soon

I preferred night one's set list, but thought the crowd was better the second night (it probably helped that we were standing the majority of the time on the floor). Highlights for me were the end of Hole In The River (Matt had a great beat going), A Sigh (first time I've heard it live), and the fact they attempted Everything Is Good For You. We also got a brief bit of This Is Massive on the second night. There was the usual banter between the band and especially Neil and Nick. The stage backdrops and lighting were well done and incorporated elements from the Time On Earth album cover. All in all it was fantastic to see the boys live again and get so much love from the Aussie audiences.

Crowded House

Crowded House finally arrived in Australia and have been all over the media these past few days. On Friday morning they appeared on Sunrise, playing four songs total. Saturday they headlined the Sydney Live Earth concert, which was absolutely fantastic to watch. Sunday night it was off to Melbourne to appear on Rove. But the highlight for me was Monday night because they played a secret show at the Corner Hotel.

Natasha joined me in line and we secured a great spot about 3 rows back from the center of the stage. The opening act was one Liam Finn. Once again he did a great set like the last time I saw him play in May. When Crowded House hit the stage it was hard to believe I was seeing them again live after all these years. The guys looked great in their suits- thank God Nick is styling them all. They played a lot of songs off the new album, along with some old favorites. The setlist (not necessarily completely in order):
Recurring Dream
Mean To Me
Heaven That I'm Making
Nobody Wants To
When You Come
Pineapple Head
Silent House
Nails In My Feet
World Where You Live
You're The One To Make Me Cry
Walked Her Way Down
People Are Like Suns
Locked Out
Something So Strong
Don't Dream It's Over

Encore 1
Don't Stop Now
Fall At Your Feet
Distant Sun

Encore 2
Pour Le Monde
Walking On The Spot
Love You Till The Day I Die
She Called Up
Four Seasons In One Day
Sister Madly

They played for nearly 2 1/2 hours. It was great to hear the new songs live and I thought "You're The One To Make Me Cry" was particularly moving. They did a brilliant and thankfully different version of "Don't Dream It's Over" after Neil decided to "murder it." The first verse was all shimmery guitar, the second verse reggae, and the rest of the song in depressing Cowboy Junkies style. There was the usual banter between songs and little musical interludes that took the show in new directions. Matt Sherrod, the new drummer, was fantastic and he really hits hard and drives the songs forward. Even though the guys were tired they still put on a wonderful show. I'm just so happy to have my favorite band back together.

Afterwards I stuck around to have a brief chat with Matt since he is a fellow California native. He was very nice and we talked about where we were from and how Sydney is like LA and Melbourne like San Francisco. He also asked what I was doing in Melbourne and how long I've been a fan. I saw Mark and Nick wandering around but didn't bother them (Neil disappeared pretty soon after the show finished). I will now have to wait until November to see them again- this time at the very large Rod Laver Arena. If you have the chance go see them in concert- you won't be disappointed.

Crowded House Reunion

My favorite band of all time, Crowded House, announced this week that they are reforming! Neil Finn explains his desire to reunite the band here. There has been a lot of press internationally, including this article in the LA Times:

Crowded House stands out in the Coachella crowd

"I just wanted to be in a band again," says lead singer Neil Finn.
By Randy Lewis, Times Staff Writer

There's "Something So Strong" about New Zealand rock band Crowded House after all: The group that disbanded a decade ago is re-forming for a new album and tour that will begin at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival.

While most of the headlines regarding the latest Coachella talent lineup announced Monday focused on the one-night-only reunion of rock-rap group Rage Against the Machine, fans have been buzzing worldwide about the resurrection of Crowded House.

After charting hits with Crowded House in the late '80s and '90s, including "Don't Dream It's Over" and "Something So Strong," the group's lead singer and chief songwriter Neil Finn decided to retire the band so he could concentrate on a solo career and on sibling projects with his brother Tim Finn, who also joined Crowded House briefly. Both had previously been members of Australia's Split Enz, which did a reunion tour in 2006.

But after the suicide of Crowded House drummer Paul Hester in 2005, Finn says he slowly came to the realization that "I just wanted to be in a band again. And what other band could it be, really?"

Speaking from Auckland, New Zealand, where he's been finishing the new album with bassist Nick Seymour, Finn told The Times today that he and Seymour came together again after Hester's death, and last year began working on new songs. They also spent time revisiting the band's past for "Farewell to the World," a 10th anniversary expanded DVD release of the film of their final concert at the Sydney Opera House, which came out earlier this month.

"It just feels like something good and true," Finn said. "We sought each other out in the shadow of Paul's passing. That helped us reconnect and gave me a reminder of what bands are and what they bring, with the sharing of the load between everybody, and the humor of not being the only guy at interviews and photo shoots. It all started to feel very natural to me."

The new album, due in the spring, will be called "Time on Earth," signaling the fleeting nature of life, a theme that came into sharp focus for Finn and Seymour with the loss of Hester.

"In ways I can't really elaborate on, Paul's presence looms large on the record," Finn said. "I didn't want to make a record that was wallowing in anything.... We were moved to write and to do things that remembered him to some degree, to acknowledge what happened. It affected us both very deeply and it still resonates very strongly. I dream about him a lot, and it will always to some degree haunt me. But ultimately it's an act of free will and choice, and you have to recognize that too."

Keyboardist Mark Hart, who toured and recorded with Crowded House, also will be taking part in the reunion tour, but Finn said there were no plans for his older brother, who has a solo album due soon, to join in. He and Seymour have been holding auditions in New Zealand and Australia and will continue the search for a new drummer with additional tryouts in Los Angeles in the next couple of weeks.

"It's pointless trying to find another Paul, because there isn't another Paul," he said. "It will be different, but hopefully it will be something that can grow and develop.... I'm very concerned that we do this properly so that it becomes a real band, and not just a brand."

Acknowledging rampant skepticism about the ever-rising tide of band reunions, Finn said, "There are people who may choose to see it in cynical ways, and I can't blame anybody — they can look at it any way they want. I know what drives me, and I'm not doing it for the money. I've done very well and I've got a really great, loyal and significant community of people who follow what I do as solo artist, with the Finn Brothers, and this is very exciting and has got me very fired up."