Crowded House helps Auckland sing the blues

REVISION: They were reluctant from the jump. For almost an hour, Neil Finn and his new supergroup Kiwi tried to encourage a sold-out Auckland crowd to stand up, get up from their seats and start dancing.

As the first of its two nights at Spark Arena kicked off, Crowded House threw it all out to the constantly seated crowd – solid gold hits. World where you live Y Private universe, delicious doses of buzzing energy during At my command and newbie Whatever you want, and Finn shooting both during It means to me who managed to break a string on his guitar.

They even opened the show, the fifth of their national tour To the Island, with a sure success for the public. The weather with you, a song with a 30-year history of being influenced by fans who stand shoulder to shoulder in the arenas.

Tonight’s crowd trapped in their seats managed to ruin that chant, forcing Finn to joke, “It’s a bit confusing isn’t it?”

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Auckland locals may have forgotten how to behave at concerts. This was probably the first big concert for many after a year with multiple locks, many nights at home, and constantly changing or canceled concert tour dates.

In recent weeks, Auckland’s new Outerfields festival has been pushed back to December, the Auckland Festival of the Arts had to completely readjust its lineup, and Sol3 Mio’s tour dates were postponed, all due to last week at the alert level 3..

Finn’s reconfigured band, with his sons Liam on guitar and Elroy on drums, as well as bassist Nick Seymour and keyboardist Mitchell Froom, were also affected by recent increases in alert levels, causing the group postponed the start of this tour and almost forced them to do it. lie down in your rehearsal studio so you can keep practicing.

Many overseas countries still suffering from blockades would be eager to attend a Crowded House concert with more than 10,000 fans huddled in a sweaty arena for a night of wonderfully sung, wonderfully performed and reliably classical hymns.

This one didn’t mix easily, with Seymour and Froom taking epic trips from Dublin and Los Angeles, then spending two weeks in managed isolation facilities, for the tour to happen.

So it’s no wonder the crowd took time to stand up. Even when Crowded House put out the biggest song of the night, Fall at your feet, they sang loud and proud with their phones held high and lighting up the stadium, but kept their bottoms firmly planted in their chairs.

Finally, an hour and almost a dozen songs into the night, they decided to get up and find their dancing shoes.

The song that made them do it? One of the slowest of the night, his maudlin ballad about Auckland’s changing weather patterns, Four seasons in one day.

As good as it was, even Finn expressed his surprise at the exulting response from the crowd. “Who expected everyone to stand up during Four seasons in one day? “he asked.” That’s … historical. “

The crowd clearly wanted a dose of comfort and nostalgia, and they had found the right band to give it to them, finally letting their hair down and dancing in the hallways by Something so strong and an encore that included Chocolate cake and an absolutely huge version of David Bowie Heroes.

Finn hasn’t lost any of his magnetism over the years, and his 62-year-old voice remains a powerful and compelling part of the Crowded House engine. When it rises, as it did regularly at night, it really rises.

Sometimes, especially during the upward chant of Don’t dream that it’s over Y Far sun, his long gray hair gave him the vibe of a shaggy-haired musical shaman who helps Aucklandites sing their way out of the blues.

The slower songs were a crowd favorite, but some of the night’s best moments came from the group’s new blood, with Elroy showing excellent form behind drums and Froom, who produced the first three Crowded House albums and only now has he become a full member. , nailing many of the band’s classic keyboard lines.

But it was Liam who really tried to steal the show, adding grungy crunch to Whispers and moans, then resting his forehead on his father’s back during a frenzied finale to locked, finally throwing his guitar over his head and grabbing it as he glided across the stage. His teenage rock band Betchadupa may have been long gone, but he still clearly remembers the tricks he learned from them.

In Pineapple head – a song that Finn revealed that Liam helped write when he was sick and battling fever at age seven – he delivered a solo so electric that even his father joked, “Nice.”

Amid the band’s endless cascade of bright chants, the night was also filled with hilarious pranks and dad jokes. Finn made fun of Seymour’s kilt, told Liam to mishandle a guitar, and even got involved in a daddy dance.

He also found time for one more joke about the Auckland public’s strange passion for slow things on the go. “You did it your way,” Finn said as he said goodbye at the end. “You have been magnificent.”

Crowded House will play Spark Arena again on Sunday.