Neil and Liam Finn- Zoo Twilights

For the past two nights I have been at the Melbourne Zoo to see Neil Finn and Liam Finn play two of their three sold out Zoo Twilights shows. Opening both nights was Donny Benet (Kirin J Callinan; Jack Ladder and The Dreamleaders) and his show band. He played a set of 1980s yacht rock and smooth jazz inspired songs. His intros to each song were quite humorous as he took us on a journey with tracks such as "Santorini" and "Konichiwa" from his latest album The Don.

Neil and Liam Finn have recently recorded their first album together, which is due out later in 2018. These shows allowed them to preview some of these new tracks along with old favorites from each of their back catalogues. Joined by the Finn family band, we got similar set lists on both nights. You can definitely hear Liam's influence on the new songs, with "Meet Me In The Air" and "Anger Plays A Part" (Friday only) being the standouts for me. While I was hoping we would get to hear some of Neil's latest solo album Out Of Silence live for the first time, the only track that was played was "Chameleon Days" on Friday night.

The Split Enz tracks got a good reaction from the crowd with the hits "I Got You," "History Never Repeats" (Saturday only) and "Message To My Girl," which included a surprise marriage proposal on stage on Friday night (thankfully she said yes). I really enjoyed hearing the Liam solo tracks "Fire In Your Belly" (Saturday only), "Cold Feet," "Miracle Glance" (complete with theremin solo) and the energy of "Second Chance" and "Better To Be," with its dramatic frozen pause by the band in the middle of the song.

As expected there were a few funny moments at each show. On Friday night there was a walkway in front of the stage, and Neil encouraged people to dance their way across and included commentary on their efforts (the kids really brought it). Neil and Liam were happy to be back in Melbourne and joked about wanting to film a new video for the album at the Royal Woman’s Hospital that would reenact Liam’s birth (I think Sharon was slightly horrified). On Saturday night the band members gave us zoo facts about meerkats, lemurs and butterflies. Let's just say I don't think all of them were true.

The Crowded House songs constituted a large portion of the set list on both nights. The Together Alone tracks dominated with "Pineapple Head," "Distant Sun" and "Private Universe," followed closely behind by the Woodface tracks "Four Seasons In One Day" and "Weather With You." Everyone sang along to "Don't Dream It's Over" at the end of the set, with the surprise inclusion of "Better Be Home Soon" to close out Saturday night, complete with Liam and Sharon Finn slow dancing together and Sharon dipping Liam. Overall both nights were fun, and it will be interesting to hear the new Neil and Liam album when it is released.

Here's the video for Neil's single "Chameleon Days"

Liam Finn and Dan Kelly- The Shadow Electric

Tonight was Finn Kelly 2.0 at The Shadow Electric at Abbotsford Convent with Liam Finn and Dan Kelly playing a dual headline show together. Opening proceedings was Palm Springs who played a solo set on electric guitar as her drummer had just had a baby.

It was the Kelly family band with Dan on guitar and his cousins Maddy and Memphis doing backing vocals. They started the night with "Baby Bonus" and then launched into "The Catholic Leader" (an appropriate song considering the venue). Dan gave hilariously detailed explanations to intro each of his songs, and apologised for working blue throughout the night. The set was more subdued due to not having the full band like at his album launch a few weeks ago. Highlights included "Never Stop The Rot, "Gold Coast Man," "Drunk On Election Night" and "Bindi Irwin Apocalypse Jam." The set closed with "Dan Kelly's Dream" complete with a conga line going through the crowd.

Liam Finn came out onto the stage wearing a black beaded jacket over his black shirt and was joined by EJ Barnes. It was just like old times as they began their set with "Fire In Your Belly" and "Better To Be" and used loops to create the layers of sound. It's been over 4 years since I last saw Liam do a proper live show here (not counting last week's SUCCESS performance) so it was exciting to get the chance to hear many of these old songs live again, as well as The Nihilist tracks for the first time. EJ sang "On Your Side" from the Champagne In Seashells EP, and "Second Chance" had Liam hopping onto the drum kit at the end.

They brought out their bandmate Jim to play bass and then kicked into some tracks off the new album, including "Snug As Fuck," "Miracle Glance" (complete with theremin), "Ocean Emmanuelle" and my favorite "Burn Up The Road." Liam made up a song on the spot for Mistletone Records, who put together this little tour. He also played the New Zealand national anthem on guitar to counter Dan's Australia tracksuit jacket and his playing of the Australian national anthem earlier (Liam did note he was wearing all black). To finish off the main set they played "I'll Be Lightning" and had everyone singing along at the end. For the encore Liam stripped off his shirt and put on the beaded jacket and got Dan out on stage to do an energetic cover of Devo's "Gut Feeling." It was an amazing finish to a fantastic double bill and a great way to spend my Thanksgiving night.

Here is one of the best videos Liam has ever made: "Wrestle With Dad"

SUCCESS: Liam Finn

Tonight I went to see SUCCESS at ACMI, a specially created piece by Liam Finn and New York filmmakers Anthony & Alex for Melbourne Music Week. The piece tackled the concept of success through a series of filmed vignettes and performance pieces accompanied by Liam playing original compositions and improvisations live.

The performance started with a clip of Liam backstage getting ready and warming up before he came into the room. Next was an interview clip between Liam and his brother Elroy, which was quite funny with some pointed barbs. Then Liam performed the song "Miracle Glance" with a theremin that was mirrored by the clip shown on the screen.

From there the piece went into the series of vignettes, with each one commencing by focusing up close on someone's eyes before pulling back to the scene. The music Liam played varied from the somber to manic with him jumping between guitar and piano and triggering different loops. The clips by Anthony & Alex were quite interesting and sometimes disturbing. The most memorable one for me was a woman cutting out the bottoms of small teddy bears and inserting dollar bills interspersed with footage of kids in Halloween costumes. I got nervous when it went from the first bear being cut to a shot of a baby in a bear costume, but thankfully it didn't take the dark turn I was fearing. SUCCESS was an interesting and thought provoking performance piece that will take a while to digest and mull over.

To give you an idea of the clips, here are three teasers that Liam put up ahead of the performance.

Top Ten Songs for 2011

Another year is coming to a close which can only mean one thing- time for all those end of year top ten lists.  Not to be left out, here are my top ten favorite songs for 2011 (aka songs that make me want to hit repeat after having just listened to them).

10. Slow Dancer "Leave It To Me"
Slow Dancer is the solo project of Simon Okely from Oh Mercy.  "Leave It To Me" is the first song he has put up online and I really love the laid back feel to Simon's music as well as his excellent guitar playing.  Definitely one to watch for 2012.

  Leave It To Me by Slow Dancer


9. The Good China "No More Maps, No More Roads"
2011 saw the return of The Good China to the Melbourne live scene after nearly a year's hiatus.  The single "No More Maps, No More Roads" was a live favorite and has all the great hallmarks of a Good China track, including lots of hand claps.



8. Boy & Bear "Feeding Line"
It has been a monster year for Sydney's Boy & Bear, having won 5 ARIA awards for their debut album Moonfire.  "Feeding Line" was the first single off the album, and signaled a new musical direction for the band from their previous EP.



7. The Harpoons "Keep You Around"
Another favorite band of mine that reemerged this year was The Harpoons.  "Keep You Around" showcases Bec Rigby's soulful voice in this song about love with the great lyric "when you smiled at me I was a hopeless case."  I am definitely looking forward to their debut album coming out in 2012.

  The Harpoons - Keep You Around by twobrightlakes 


6. Liam Finn "Don't Even Know Your Name"
This song was not a single but it's my favorite track off Liam Finn's latest album FOMO.  "Don't Even Know Your Name" has a driving beat and an optimistic energy to it, and I absolutely love the chorus (which for some reason reminds me of "Panic" by The Smiths).  Here's a live version of song, but do seek out the album track.



5. Brous "Streamers"
The first single off of Brous' self-titled debut EP, "Streamers" sounds like a song from a 1960s James Bond film.  Sophia Brous' voice is quite amazing and I love how the first verse of this song keeps speeding up.  There is a definite cinematic quality to her music and it will be interesting to see what she produces next.



4. Seeker Lover Keeper "Even Though I'm A Woman"
Seeker Lover Keeper is the female Australian supergroup made up of Sarah Blasko, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby.  One of the initial singles off of their self-titled debut album, "Even Though I'm A Woman" is a song about long distance love sung by Holly and written by Sally with some biting lyrics such as "I love you more when I'm missing you, it's why I'm always away."  The song is a bit of an anthem for female independence.



3. Kimbra "Cameo Lover"
Kimbra is originally from New Zealand but has been living in Melbourne the past few years.  "Cameo Lover" come off of her debut album Vows and won her the 2011 Vanda and Young Songwriting Competition as well as an ARIA award for best female artist.  I love the contrast between the verses and chorus of this song as well as its fantastic video.



2. Gotye "State Of The Art"
You may have thought that I would pick Gotye's biggest hit to date, but no, my favorite song off of his latest album Making Mirrors is "State Of The Art."  Only Wally would write a song about his beloved Lowrey Cotillion organ.  My favorite part of the song is when the bossa nova rhythm kicks in to the lyric "start the bossa nova beat and limbo from the living to the kitchen."  The video animation by Rubber House is also exceptional.



1. Oh Mercy "Stay Please Stay"
My most played song of the year is Oh Mercy's "Stay Please Stay," the first single off their second album Great Barrier Grief.  I absolutely adore the chorus of this song, especially Thomas Savage's beautiful jangly guitar.  It also has a great closing lyric by Alexander with "what can I do with a love that gathers dust in a busy room?" An indie pop classic.

Liam Finn- FOMO Tour

Tonight I headed to the Corner Hotel for Liam Finn's sold out show in support of his new album FOMO.  The opening band was Evil J & Saint Cecilia (aka EJ Barnes and Cecilia Herbert). Throughout their set they swapped playing guitar and bass, and utilized a drum machine and sampled vocal loops to build the rhythm tracks to the songs. Their harmonies were very strong and most of the songs were more mellow and had a bit of atmosphere to them. I really liked "Silver Spoons" and they finished with "Strange Beast."


The next band of the night was Big Scary, who started their set with "Autumn." They played a mix of old and new songs as they have been busy in the studio recording their debut album.  Highlights for me were "Apple Song," "Tuesday is Rent Day," "All That You've Got," "Falling Away" and "Mix Tape."

Liam Finn came out and began with an instrumental jam before launching into "I'll Be Lightning." For this tour Liam has a full band which includes his brother Elroy on drums and also EJ Barnes (who he toured with previously) on backing vocals and percussion.  They played a mix of songs from both his albums. "Second Chance" received a big audience sing along, and new songs such as "Don't Even Know Your Name" (my favorite track off FOMO) and "The Struggle" sounded great.  We even got "Plane Crash" from Liam and EJ's Champagne in Seashells EP.  They finished the main set with an epic version of "Lead Balloon" and broke some of their gear in the process.  For the encore they played "Jump Your Bones," and then Liam and EJ sang "Wide Awake on the Voyage Home."  Unfortunately I had to leave half way through the song in order to catch the last tram to the city, but it was an amazing show and so much fun to watch Liam alternate between guitar and drums on stage.

Here is Liam's video for "Cold Feet"

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"

Liam Finn and Eliza Jane

Last night I headed down to The Corner Hotel for the launch of Liam Finn and Eliza Jane's new EP Champagne In Seashells. The first act for the evening was singer-songwriter Matt Walters who played a nice solo set on acoustic guitar. Up next was Adelaide band Leader Cheetah who sound like a mix of Neil Young and Fleet Foxes. I really enjoyed many of their songs and they are definitely a band to keep an eye on.

Liam and EJ came out to loud cheers from the sold out crowd and launched into "Plane Crash." The set was a mix of songs from the new EP and ones from the I'll Be Lightning album. There was the usual banter and Liam is still using loops to layer samples of different instruments and build up the songs. Highlights of the set were "Long Way To Go," "Energy Spent," "Remember When," "I'll Be Lightning" and "Lead Balloon." Liam also played "Red Wine Bottle" off the new 7 Worlds Collide album after someone in the audience requested it. During the encore Elroy Finn came out to play drums on a couple songs, including "This Place Is Killing Me." It was a great and entertaining evening and I'm glad to see Liam continue to gain more success as a solo artist.

Here is a clip of Liam and EJ performing "Long Way To Go" on Sunrise earlier in the week:

Sound Relief

I knew it would be a wet day when the sky went black at 10:30 am and the heavens opened up. Thankfully I had a poncho which was the fashion choice of the day amongst the crowd at the Sound Relief Bushfire benefit concert at the MCG yesterday. I arrived as Jet was midway through their set. Once they finished Tash and I located each other in the front arena section as we waited for Melbourne teen Gabriella Cilmi to start. She sang her hit "Sweet About Me" as well as a cover of "Whole Lotta Love." Next on the bill was the first big act of the day, Kings of Leon. The crowd noticeably swelled just as the rain began to fall. Due to the fact they were playing a show later on that evening, they had a short set of four songs and didn't play their biggest here "Sex on Fire" which led to some mumbling in the crowd after they finished.

Next was Melbourne's own songwriting legend Paul Kelly. There were big crowd sing alongs for "Dumb Things," "To Her Door," and the song that mentions the MCG "Leaps and Bounds." Augie March's set started off a bit slow, but picked up at the end with the barnstormer "This Train will be Taking no Passengers" and their bit hit "One Crowded Hour." As the dark clouds came over the arena Tash and I decided to take a food break during Bliss N Eso which was smart because a torrential downpour happened while we were undercover and the stage lost power for a bit. However the rain eased up and the boys were joined by Paris Wells for a song at the end of their energetic hip-hop set.

During breaks between acts we were shown video from the artists performing at the Sydney concert. We got to see snippets from Coldplay (including their collaboration with John Farnham on "You're the Voice"), Hoodoo Gurus, Little Birdy, Josh Pyke, Eskimo Joe, Architecture in Helsinki, You Am I, Icehouse, and The Presets. There were also videos in tribute to the CFA firefighters and of the devastation from the bushfires.

Kasey Chambers and Shane Nicholson performed a similar set to the one we saw at Homebake and had Troy Cassar-Daley join them for "The House that Never Was." Then is was time for Liam Finn and friends. Liam and EJ Barnes came out and performed "Second Chance" and "Lead Balloon" before calling out the family band- Elroy Finn, Unkle Nick (Seymour) and N-Dog (Neil Finn) for some songs. When "Don't Dream It's Over" started the crowd erupted in cheers and quickly filled the arena for a big sing along. Tim Finn came out to sing "Weather With You" and then Neil finished up with a song dedicated to the firefighters "Better Be Home Soon." It was one of the highlights of the day.

The crowd stuck around for a mellow set by Jack Johnson during which we watched the dark clouds start to come over the stadium again. After he finished the downpour began with much colder rain this time. It continued as Wolfmother took to the stage in front of an excited crowd. I found the set a bit uninspired as Andrew Stockdale is playing the exact same songs from 3 1/2 years ago except with all new band members. I was expecting at least some new material out of them. When they finished there was a joint live feed with the Sydney concert where a video message from Princes William and Harry was aired and a minute of silence held for the victims. Kylie Minogue then appeared on the Melbourne stage and lead everyone in singing "I Still Call Australia Home."

Next it was time for the first big reunion of the night, Hunters & Collectors, who hadn't played together in 11 years. They started their set with "When the River Runs Dry," and played their hits "Do You See What I See?", "Holy Grail," and "Throw Your Arms Around Me" among others. They finished with an encore of one of their earliest songs "The Slab." After the Finn family set in the afternoon Neil and Tim were back on stage with Split Enz. Opening with "Shark Attack" the highlights of the set were "I Got You," "Six Months in a Leaky Boat," "History Never Repeats," and "I See Red."

The final and most anticipated act of the evening was a reunited Midnight Oil featuring current Federal Minister for the Environment Peter Garrett. They began with "Redneck Wonderland" and played their hits "Dreamworld," "Blue Sky Mine," "Beds are Burning," "One Country," "King of the Mountain," "The Dead Heart," "The Power and the Passion," and finished up with "Sometimes." It was an amazing and powerful set to top off a fantastic day of music (despite the weather) and I was proud to be part of the historic 80,000 crowd there at the MCG.

Liam Finn and The Gin Club

Last night I headed to The Evelyn Hotel to see Liam Finn play. After touring extensively throughout the US for the first half of the year, he scheduled four dates in Australia and New Zealand as part of his "Better to Be Home Soon" tour. My first surprise of the night was the length of the line that greeted me when I arrived at the venue. Liam is obviously getting more popular as none of his previous shows had been this packed out. Opening band The Gin Club were entertaining as all the band members switched instruments and took turns on vocals depending on what song they were playing. They sounded great (sort of folk-rock) and are a talented bunch of musicians.

Liam and his lovely sidekick EJ Barnes opened with a crazy noise jam that was actually done to test out their equipment as they had been having technical issues at sound check. Unfortunately, EJ's loop pedal wasn't working so she couldn't do any vocal loops (although she did get it to cooperate once). Liam also had problems keeping his guitar in tune after he knocked it against a beam in the ceiling. Despite the technical difficulties it was a fun hour long set with lots of banter back and forth between EJ and Liam. Jokes about Liam's height led EJ to refer to him as Prince, and they created a jam about EJ's cowboy boots because Liam wanted to wear them. Liam nearly broke his drum kit when he used one of her boots to play. We got a new song that featured EJ on autoharp and Liam using percussion mallets to play the drums, and they closed the night with "Wide Awake on the Voyage Home." On my way to the tram stop I had my second surprise of the night when I passed Quang and Taka of Little Red sitting outside at a restaurant on Brunswick Street. Melbourne can be a small town at times.

Liam Finn- Melbourne Style

Yes, I went to see Liam Finn in concert again, this time at the Northcote Social Club. Danny and Ruth came along as well for the evening. Things started off with a solo acoustic set from EJ Barnes, who played old material and stuff from her upcoming album. During the intermission between acts Ruth encouraged me to go up to Liam and EJ at the merch table and get them to autograph a poster, which I did. I told them how I had seen them a few weeks ago in San Francisco, and they had very fond memories of the show and the City. The second support act theredsunband sort of reminded me of The Breeders and Mazzy Star. Their drummer quit on them a few days ago, but they are soldiering on with the tour (and driving to shows on P plates).

Liam came on around 11:00 pm and played for an hour. I was excited to hear a few songs off the new album live for the first time: Energy Spent, I'll Be Lightning, and Wide Awake On The Voyage Home. It was good to see that EJ now has some instruments to play with (including a cow bell). They both put on a great show together- highly entertaining and original as always. Liam is the loop master and has added a vocal looping microphone to his repertoire. The songs played (in no particular order):
- Better To Be
- Fire In Your Belly
- Energy Spent
- I'll Be Lightning
- My Army Of Birds And Gulls (yay, a betchadupa song)
- Wise Man
- Remember When
- Second Chance
- Lead Balloon
*****************************
- Gather To The Chapel
- Wide Awake On The Voyage Home

Liam Finn

I was a bit bummed that I was going to miss Liam Finn opening for Sarah Blasko in Melbourne since I am out of town. However, as luck would have it Liam booked a show in San Francisco on his way back from New York at the Make-Out Room in the Mission District. Lynne joined me for the evening, and we also got to see my friend Squid (who actually let me know this show was happening). It was a very entertaining 45 minutes of DIY music from Mr. Finn, who was accompanied by EJ Barnes on backing vocals. The set list (in no particular order):
- Fire In Your Belly
- Better To Be
- Second Chance
- Gather To The Chapel
- Remember When
- Wise Man
- Lead Balloon

There were various noise jams and some funny banter as well. Liam told us that he was travelling on an Irish passport and when going through customs in Abu Dhabi they asked him why he didn't speak Gaelic. His response? "Gaelic my balls." Such a funny boy. For your musical enjoyment here is Liam's video for the single "Second Chance"

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.

Liam Finn

Last night Belinda and I headed to The Toff in Town to see Liam Finn play a solo show. Liam played songs off his new album "I'll Be Lightning," which comes out in July. I already knew about half of the songs from hearing them on his myspace page. Liam was a one man band (with some backing vocal support from EJ Barnes). He looped guitar riffs and then used the pedals to change up the sound and layer everything. Liam also had a drum kit that he would play over the loops. It was pretty amazing to watch. This clip will give you an idea of what it was like- the song "Lead Balloon" filmed at Spaceland in LA.