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Review By: Andra Jenkin

Artist: Crowded House (Supported by Mel Parsons)

Date: Saturday 23rd November 2024

Venue: Spark Arena, Auckland, New Zealand

In the spirit of Gonzo journalism, I need to declare my bias for Crowded House. When a 24-hour journey from Indonesia to Thailand turned into a 9-day trip plagued by bus breakdowns, ship delays and finally riots quelled with AK47s, the only English-speaking company I had was the Crowded House, Very Best of album, Recurring Dream that I’d bought in Kuta just before I left.

It was incredibly comforting to hear Weather with You and Distant Sun in a random cafe in the middle of nowhere when the bus drivers had walked off into the bush with parts, 9 hours before. While walking past the burned-out wreckages of smouldering buildings after the riots brought a heightened sense of emotion to ‘Better be Home Soon’ that induced a yearning for the my own shaky but safe Isles I’d never felt before.

The reality of accidently finding yourself in the middle of history is either terrifying, (calling home to find out the city I was not just polluted, that was smoke from the fires, and the streets were empty because of the government had sent protestors home using indiscriminate gunfire I’d just missed), or terribly boring (holed up in a hotel room for days because all transport leaving the main island was booked out by other terrified people leaving in their droves). My soundtrack the entire way was Crowded House. Neil Finn’s masterful lyrics came to life, keeping me calm and grounded. The storytelling was so beautiful and quintessentially kiwi (take that Oz – you can’t have them) that it felt like I carried not just the weather, but a part of my home with me. This is the album that literally kept me sane.

So, I must admit I’m a little nervous. Despite my soft spot for them, in my life thus far I’ve failed to attend a single live performance of the band in question. So far, I’ve had the bad luck to just miss them parties in town, Piha parties and at gigs I couldn’t get to. Half my band/friend group were in the Private Universe video breathing fire for goodness’ sake. I have spent more time than I should seething with jealousy that my siblings, friends and extended family have manged to see them play. Hell, even my mother, who is completely indifferent to music of all kinds, has seen Neil live at a funeral. A lifetime of missing out has led to far too much anticipation of this gig and my expectations are all over the place. But I have faith. I know they are consummate professionals and have had a long and storied career from their 1995 beginnings to now, returning home as conquering heroes. 

But first, I will of course tell you all about the support act. Mel Parsons. A four piece band, including herself, that already have six albums under their belt. She’s got a big voice, with some lovely echoey reverb that layers the indie-folk, country-rock, confessional pop music that so perfectly led in to Crowded House. The pairing made sense, with Parson’s offering being something to sway to. There’s a melancholic Chris Izak type vibe to some songs, with Far, Far Away giving Stevie Nicks undertones.  Hailing from Christchurch, Parsons does the singer/songwriter thing that women in New Zealand music do so well.

There’s a drowsy, laid-back opiate feel, like a lullaby with an edge, but just when I think the soporific tones are going to take over, number 5 comes up, enthusiastic banger, Hardest Thing. It’s a reasonably static performance with the band remaining in place for the duration, but given that the entire arena is seated, we’re not moving either - no fault of the band, who bow out to leave us in anticipation of the main event.

In the intermission we listen to Bowie’s Five years (my friend Liz McNamara is being super helpful tech support, plugging the music into Soundcloud to help me sort out the noises, while I furiously write notes. She uses the QR code on the side of the stage to give me the play list, which Crowded House, once onstage, completely ignore and subvert by playing whatever they want, in whatever order they like. They enter the stage to sitar music carrying lanterns and immediately launch into ‘Mean to Me’. Its properly familiar for someone like me who has listened to it on repeat on various buses and boats all over southeast Asia, while the rest of the audience seems to have heard it once or twice because we’re all singing along like we’re round a campfire.

To my absolute joy, Neil Finn has great chops. Always an extraordinary master lyricist, I was certain the new songs would be great, but as I hadn’t heard the singer live before, and that singer has been around long enough to start making his own band members, I admit, I worried that he might not have the vocal ability he had when first starting out. Nonsense. Neil is brilliant, with incredible vocal control and he wasn’t the only one. The melodic harmonies Crowded House are known for were fully operational, inspirational even. Accompanying Neil Finn was Nick Seymour on bass, and Finn’s offspring, Liam and Elroy on guitar and drums, respectively, as well as Mitchell Froom (the band’s original producer), and while he doesn’t appear on the posters, I scoured the internet and discovered it was percussionist Paul Taylor on the bongos and tambourine.

Close your eyes and the band sounds like a recording. I’m going to go right off about them, because they absolutely deserve it. Seymour and Neil playfully stalk each other on stage, just being casually brilliant, because while they’ve done this all before, it’s been a minute since they showed off their talents at home. The Tino Rangatiratanga flag is proudly displayed on stage if you’re wondering where the band sit politically right now, a backdrop to the ethereal, sophisticated sounds that evoke the ocean and open skies.

They have a big sound, full, with plenty of reverb and a great progression with rising energy building from underneath like the tidal pull on a west coast beach. There’s the quiet/loud pair down and shout out loud sound juxtaposition that kiwi bands love. They banter about beginnings and endings, a theme that will run throughout the gig, the last one of the tour.

For the 4th song, ‘Fall at your Feet’ (a sex song about their parents that I’m sure wasn’t awkward at all for Elroy and Liam to play), the entire audience is singing along. We are praised by Neil, who tells us, “You brought your voices tonight, Auckland,” and we did, I’m proud of us too, we are killing it.

Neil gets another guitar. There are about six or seven guitar changes throughout the night, which he uses to make a joyous noise. There’s something about this band that brings a feeling of togetherness. For the first time in a long time, it feels like despite the craziness of the world, that it’s all going to be ok. Finn’s lyrics express a purity of emotion, as his fingers fly over frets, we know we’re in good hands. His humble kiwi joker personality belies the fact that he’s an excellent front-man, spinning around the stage, playing guitar like the second nature it obviously is. When you Come is echoing and exploding the complex harmonics building to crescendo. Are they still good? No, they’re not just good, they’re fucking incredible.

“We all want to have the last word,” Neil jokes, “Liam is jumping on last notes.”

“Just living my best life, Dad.” Liam fires back. Before they inexplicably start to sing one line of ‘Love is in the air’, then ‘Far from Home’.

‘On Fingers of Love’, Liam is bending notes using the whammy bar, and Mitchel Froom breaks out the wah wah for some songs. ‘Private Universe’ is haunting yet intimate, the arrangement change mystic, and paired back in places with the vocal harmonies at the forefront, overtaken by driven guitar and drums pulling us to move. Thwarted by the seats, some brave souls have moved to the front and Neil thoroughly approves what he calls the dance pods.

*The 13th song, and title track of the album ‘Magic Piano. Melodic with floating notes, it’s atmospheric and clearly a Crowded House song. As Elroy is brought to the front for ‘Four Seasons in One Day’, a gentle mosh breaks out up front.

This is what I’m patriotic about. We’ve taken our time, but the maestro has charmed us all and by now the entire audience is on their feet. Liz and I have been wanting to dance the entire time and we finally get to do what you’re supposed to do at a concert and rock out to ‘Sister Madly’. There’s call backs to lyrics past, and updates, with magazines turned to the internet. The audience is clapping along, and Elroy does a drum solo.

I’ve got you is perfectly discordant, and we sing along together, a symphony of sound. They are ours, and we are theirs. Belonging. Home. We sing about waiting for the thrill to return, in ‘Distant Sun’, and I can honestly say it has. Life has been so scary and hectic for so long that I was starting to give up. Too tired to go to concerts, I was losing interest in music itself. But Crowded House has kicked my arse back into gear and revived me. A balm for the soul. If Neil Finn can sound this fresh and energetic, I can get it together and sing and be brave and run full tilt into life again too.

Crowded House get Mel Parsons and band up for *‘Weather With You’. Far from flagging, they’re playing more powerful than ever. ‘I See Red’ has all the punk energy of the original Split Enz days. They do four or five songs in the encore, mashing up some songs, doing one or two lines of another, throwing in some odd combos, playing and jamming just for the fun of it. “Thank you for indulging us on our extravagant flights of fancy,” Neil declares before leading us into the last song of the night. Under the direction of our band leader we sustain the sweet high notes, bringing it all together with the aptly named, ‘Better Be Home Soon’. This was one for the bucket list for me. While this was the last gig of the tour, there’s beginnings and endings. I’m going to begin by buying their end album, Gravity Stairs, and working my way back through the discography to the very beginning.   

*Review Amendments Made 9:53am 24/11/2024 - Editor Megan Moss