Crowded House @ The SydneyEntertainment Centre(07/11/07)

Thu 8th Nov, 2007 in Gig Reviews

Pop tunes that everyone can sing along with, chorus and verse, are a rare commodity. 12, 00 voices at full volume were there with us at the Sydney Entertainment Centre last night to share another homecoming with the boys from Crowded House. Neil Finn has written so many gems that have seeped into our culture over the last 20 years and we hear them on the radio, on our stereo or our personal listening devices so the words become part of our lives.

After a shaky start where the volume and mix of the sound diminished the opening impact of Private Universe the band kicked into Mean To Me where the crowd warmed up their vocal chords. Neil was in perfect voice; Nick Seymour was having a ball doing dance steps whenever possible in his white suit. The new guy behind the drum kit is quite remarkable and his name is Matt Sherrod who formerly played in Beck’s touring outfit. Mark Hart continues to add harmonies and just about everything else! He slipped on a guitar, a meldoica, slide guitar, and keyboards throughout the evening to continue to show his instrumental expertise. I wonder how much he misses his days with Supertramp?

Of course, having a brand new drummer and no more Paul Hester is a sad thing.But time moves on and we all have to deal with loss. Neil said, “We miss him too. But I think we can contain the same spirit in our performance without Paul. We test the edges. That won’t change.”

The fun and the spontaneity are still present within a Crowded House evening. Nick asked the gathering if they had any requests and the rabble responded with noise. Neil asked of Nick, “Did you get anything out of that?” Nick replied, “I heard – œnatural’ in there somewhere.”
Of course the band already had instruments in their hands for the next song and Neil and Mr. Hart looked a bit confused as what to do. But they worked easily into It’s Only Natural, tuning up as they moved along. Grins were all around, on and off the stage.
That is the nature of a night with the boys from Crowded House.

Covering the Talking Heads’ Road To Nowhere was priceless and led into a fabulous Locked Out and Something So Strong which finally had most of the throng on their feet. But of course there was more, and as they always did in the past, they never finished with one song in their encore. Fingers Of Love, Four Seasons In One Day and the song I many of us have heard then finish with, Better be Home Soon wrapped up another beautiful evening with one of our greatest treasures.

My only regret was not going on Monday evening to hear the songs they did not play on Tuesday! Oh well, a new album is in the works, and Crowded House is not going anywhere too soon. As Neil said (and sang), “We’ve got the fire in our belly!”
Welcome back!