Crowded House review – Perth performance much more than a traffic jam on memory lane | Pop and rock
Tthe last time neil finn appeared on stage in Perth it was in 2019 as a member of Fleetwood Mac, in a performance that included several of his own songs. He was modest about it, but the fact that ‘Fleetwood Mac: Guitarist/Vocalist’ is just one entry on his CV speaks indelibly of his achievements. He respectfully broke down the gates of Buckingham Palace.
The first time Crowded House hit the Perth stage was in 1987. in the long-demolished Entertainment Centre. They were so hot right then; flotsam jetsam in perspective, comedic and poignant and dazzling, with all their vocal and instrumental pieces at play. They were tearing up the US, having already invaded our hearts, with Finn at the helm, lead bassist Nick Seymour and the late drummer Paul Hester (and touring keyboardist Eddie Rayner). They opened with the first track from their recently released self-titled debut album, produced by Mitchell Froome, who now plays keyboards in the band. It was perfect.
Fast forward to Friday night at Perth’s King’s Park and it was a jam down memory lane, but with reminders that great artists aren’t lost in nostalgia, no matter how much we wish they were.
Perth singer/songwriter Angie Coleman had earlier ensconced the crowd in the cloudy-equatorial climate of the late afternoon. With his own local airplay hit Who Are You Now? to a rendition of Mazzy Star’s Fade Into You, she took on the 6 o’clock challenge and settled into thousands of blankets for an after-work picnic. It’s harder than it sounds. Resurgent New Zealand empress Vera Ellen and band were a revelation, a shining reminder that pop’n’roll can still nudge one’s soul.
This time, like the first time Crowded House hit the stage in Perth, they opened with Mean To Me, the first look at the band’s 1986 debut album. This “blind date with fate” brought them – and all of us – here. He discovered Neil Finn and his incredible shock of gray hair in the classic Crowdies tandem with bassist Nick Seymour. But there’s an immediate sense that it’s not all nostalgia with the vocal harmonies from Finn’s sons Liam (guitar) and Elroy’s beautiful piercing drumming bringing the song into the realms of us now.
We and now. The inclusivity of this music is everything. Finn, resplendent in double blue (but not quite double denim), joked with the gang camping out in the Royal Park, while the elegantly tall Seymour in black shorts enjoyed ruminations on reptiles and a game of spotlights. Camping is prohibited in Kings Park, but the public wished it to be. The World Where You Live was a fitting nod to this tease, and Finn would soon be honoring Wadjuk’s land where the performance was held as the band opened with the gently majestic Fall At Your Feet.
A caress, a hug, a reassurance – it was the first of many songs from the crowd during the night. “You brought your votes, Pert.” We knew you would,” Finn said. When You Come, from the band’s 1988 album Temple Of Low Men. – a darker turn from the bright and bubbly 1986 debut. – was epic, the band bent over and Liam’s guitar rising above and between them (a psychedelic father-son guitar entanglement also later highlighted on To the Island ). Finn’s pride in having his sons play his songs is evident. When they later played The Other, written by Elroy, Finn was particularly moved by the audience’s percussive participation on the hill to the left of the stage and made it known.
Picking up the piano and noting it was his first instrument, Finn played playful classical notes. “Lucky Beethoven’s not here,” he said with some self-deprecation. “He would have flipped over,” Seymour said flatly.
The new album, Gravity Stairs, got its due with five award-winning tracks – Teenage Summer, Oh Hi, Night Song, Magic Piano and The Howl – and although any band four decades on will always be met with silent patience at best from an audience , which is crying out for hits, given the inherent nature of Finn’s songwriting and the band’s performance, the reception was considered engaging, the songs charming, if unfamiliar worlds to their own you are
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With Ellroy at the helm on snare and brushes, Crowded House rolled through Four Seasons In One Day and Sister Madly, delivering mood and showbiz all in one, but the business end of the night began with a rousing run through Split Enz’s I Got You – still mad after all these years.
The last quarter of the show was a photo album of hits. Don’t Dream It’s Over, Distant Sun, Weather With You, Something So Strong and Chocolate Cake brought the sitters to their feet and had the picnic blanket brigade cutting their rugs. A medley that started with Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me and moved through Queen’s Under Pressure, Stevie Nicks’ Edge Of Seventeen, Hot Chocolate’s I Believe In Miracles and closed delightfully with Talking Heads’ Road To Nowhere had the crowd rapturously applauding.
In a night of singing, the closing Better Be Home Soon proved to be one of the greatest campfire songs of all time. It was a song – and indeed a night – for the ages.
The Australian tour of Crowded House continues until December.
