Paul Kelly and Neil Finn @ RedHill Auditorium, Perth(25/04/11)

Mon 2nd May, 2011 in Gig Reviews

A night of stars sparkling in the open night sky, a bottle of wine and a couple of the most iconic names in Australian and New Zealand music; sounds too good to be true doesn’t it? Well unless you were lucky enough to snag a ticket to Paul Kelly and Neil Finn it was. Under the picturesque night sky at Red Hill Auditorium Finn and Kelly played stripped-back acoustic sets of their greatest hits in front of thousands of eager fans, alongside Lior and The Forgotten Soldiers.

Beginning the night was reggae band The Forgotten soldiers. Fronted by Ben Merito whose soulful, funky vocals characterised the catchy, upbeat reggae roots song of the band. The quintet made for an excellent reception to those who had arrived early.

As The Forgotten Soldiers finished their set and punters began arriving in flocks, Lior came on stage. The Sydney-based indie guitarist chose to forgo his band to offer a minimalist, acoustic version of his set. Lior’s clear, sweet voice, coupled with his tender, heart-warming songs, made for an exceptional performance. Welcoming on stage a string quartet to accompany him for his song Grey Ocean made for an interesting change halfway through the set. Playing a deeply soulful rendition of John Martin’s Satisfied Mind as well as an interesting take on the Radiohead song No Surprises, Lior reminisced about his last visit to Perth as part of his band’s tour in March. Finally Lior said his goodnight and finished with his hit This Old Love.

Following Lior was the hoary Paul Kelly. Starting with Down To My Soul, Kelly showed he had also opted for the stripped-back approach. Armed with nothing but an acoustic guitar and backed by nephew Dan Kelly on the electric, Kelly played many of his iconic songs for the crowd such as Dumb Things and Before Too Long. Though Kelly is now getting on a bit in years, his songs were filled with genuine emotion and a deeply ingrained sense of Australian blues.

The crowd was also treated to a performance of Don’t Harm The Messenger, with Dan Kelly performing Grant McLennan’s part from the original recording. Kelly then continued on with How To Make Gravy then introduced the next song saying, “This song ends at the beginning” before playing To Her Door.
To end the set Kelly remarked “We want to do a song for you but we thought we’d get a friend to come and help finish it off,” before introducing Neil Finn to the stage to play Leaps and Bounds and providing a titillating sample of Finn’s upcoming set.

“Good evening Perth, you look absolutely amazing. I’ve been watching you for the last hour.” With electric guitar in hand Finn introduced himself to the eager crowd before playing the Split Enz classic One Step Ahead.
Finn’s set was a mix of his greatest hits from his time in the Split Enz and Crowded House, providing plenty of opportunities to sing along. The stage was bathed in a golden hue and Finn indulged the crowd in some psychedelic solos before playing the classics_Don’t Dream It’s Over_ and Something So Strong.

Finn proceeded to shake things up by asking guitar players in the audience to jump over the barricade for a chance to join him in a song before the honour went to an eager blonde named Sue.

Paul and Dan Kelly were then invite on stage to perform a bluesy rendition of Four Seasons In One Day before he finished with the Split Enz song I Got You. Beckoned back on stage by the audience, Finn performed a three-song encore consisting of World Where You Live, Throw Your Arms Around Me and Better Be Home Soon.