Crowded House
Gravity Stairs Tour
Dunedin Town Hall
Tuesday, November 12
REVIEWED BY STEVE HEPPBURN
Neil Finn may qualify for a gold card, but like a fine wine he appears to be getting better with age.
There is no doubt he is more Bannockburn pinot noir than Ranfurly Draught.
He came on to the stage last night and he was master and commander. He totally owned it, hook, line and sinker.
Finn and company brought every inch of their talent and experience to the Dunedin Town Hall as the latest combination of Crowded House came to town.
In the second night of their Gravity Stairs Tour, the band mixed the somewhat new with the old and the crowd, of which most were nearer 60 than 30, lapped it up.
They started with Mean to Me; the crowd went off and that is where they stayed. Fall at Your Feet was fantastic and the crowd was in Finn's lap.
Liam Finn looked like Slash at one stage - rocking off to Fingers of Love. There was a walk down memory lane with the old Split Enz number Message to my Girl.
The songs are the things that matter. In this modern world where it is all about style and swagger rather than substance, Crowded House - and including its off-shoots and forebears- have always had the material to put on a good show. The near-capacity house loved every minute of it.
The six-piece group, made up of two original members in Finn and Nick Seymour, another couple of Finns in Neil’s sons Liam and Elroy, longtime producer Mitchell Froom and Paul Taylor, were all smiles and were having a great night.
Private Universe also hit the right notes as the songs of the 1990s came to the fore.
Special guest Mel Parsons opened the night with a brisk, well-organised performance which got everyone into the mood.
