Recorded and filmed on tour this past March before a home country crowd in Auckland, New Zealand, the show was among the initial full capacity sold-out arena performances by an international music artist since the COVID-19 pandemic shut down venues worldwide.
Crowded House co-founding singer/songwriter/guitarist Neil Finn and bassist/backing vocalist Nick Seymour are now joined by keyboardist Mitchell Froom (producer of the first three Crowdies albums as well as the just-released Dreamers are Waiting), Finn's sons Liam on guitars/backing vocals and Elroy on drums/backing vocals. An extra percussionist rounded out the stage musicians.
The exhilarating 24-song set clocked in at just over two hours and touched upon all the group's studio releases with emphasis on 1991's Woodface and 1993's Together Alone. I was pleased to hear so much material from the latter effort because its promotional campaign was the first time that I interviewed Neil at the famous Capitol Records tower in Hollywood.
From a practical standpoint, the setlist choices made perfect sense because the new songs on Dreamers are often as atmospheric in nature as those on Together. Here, the guys debuted three of them live. In recent interviews, Neil has stated that any future touring will likely include more than half a dozen Dreamers tunes.
The band opened the gig in jubilant fashion with "Weather with You," all the usual harmonies intact. Seymour - clad in a kilt - was obviously having a grand old time. Liam acquitted himself well on electric guitar, especially amid some searing lead solos on "Mean to Me," "In My Command" and "Whispers and Moans." He even tossed his instrument in the air a la Pete Townshend at the conclusion of rocker "Locked Out."
"World Where You Live," bolstered by Froom's sinewy organ work (he also played on the studio recording), was an early standout as Neil Finn's vocals were sturdy as ever. He frequently moved around the stage, interacted and bantered about with Liam and Nick.
Whenever Liam had a chance, he took out a Super 8 camera and filmed the proceedings. Various short black and white snippets were shown throughout the livestream production (the overall camera work was top notch).
A majestic new "Playing with Fire" evoked the California pop harmony sound of the mid-to-late 1960s. Similarly, "Four Seasons in One Day," was prefaced by a new orchestral intro that made for a seamless transition.
Come encore time, the whimsical "Chocolate Cake" saw Neil take to the piano for the first time that evening and pull out all the stops (see photo, left). He stayed put for a surprising, yet satisfying cover of David Bowie's "Heroes," but eventually stood up to give the vocals a more dramatic emphasis at the stage front.
After a fan tossed up a paper airplane scrawled with a song request, Neil hesitantly obliged and did "Elephants" (off Intriguer) and then capped everything off with a striking "I Got You," from Neil's first band Split Enz. All told it was an impressive show. I look forward to a future North American tour.
Photos by Aaron Lee.
Crowded House enthusiasts can still access the livestream via www.CrowdedHouseStream.com and watch it on demand through Sunday, June 20 at 11:59 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (U.S.). There are also several exclusive merchandise items available for purchase this week.
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