Christopher Cross, Auckland NZ, 2017

Christopher Cross

30th August 2017
The Town Hall, Auckland, New Zealand.

Review and photography by Sarah Kidd.

There are very few artists who could ever claim to have won a total of five, yes that’s right five Grammy awards with one album; even fewer who could make that claim with their debut album no less. But the gentlemen known as Christopher Cross can. Returning to Australasia for the first time in 20 years, he has promised a show that would include all the fan favourites, interspersed with a few re-worked classics and a bit of new material, for that cherry on the top. But before dining on the smorgasbord of Cross’s back catalogue, a very New Zealand entrée awaited.

When well-known kiwi musician Rikki Morris stepped onto the Town Hall stage tonight it was with a huge smile. Accompanied by the wonderful Mark Steven on keyboards, Morris presented a six song set on his acoustic guitar. Dressed simply in a red shirt and black waistcoat, Morris epitomized casual chic as he opened with his first track of the night ‘World Stand Still’; joking with the audience that it was “nice to play originals for a change, rather than ‘April Sun in Cuba’, not that that’s a bad song”. Quickly moving into ‘Heartbroke’ which he wrote in 1990, a song that just one year later would see Morris collect an Apra Silver Scroll; and it was plain to see that he had captured the audience’s heart.

A couple of older songs that had never been played live before and much banter about bra’s being thrown towards the stage (Morris obviously still hurt by the fact that someone threw him a plain cap rather than something a little more racy) and we had arrived at the door of nostalgia and it was beckoning us inside. A triumphant rendition of ‘Nobody Else’ his No. 1 hit from 1988 (that won him Songwriter of the Year) saw fans whoop for joy and sway in their seats as they sang along.

Following a short interval, in what could only be described as a spectacularly lit Town Hall; Cross’s band quietly came out and arranged themselves around the stage. Cross, beret-style hat pulled down low moved straight in front of the centrally positioned microphone and purveyed the room. What would follow was a rather intriguing predominantly instrumental piece (with vocals by Cross’s two back-up singers Stephcynie and Marcia) entitled ‘Haila’ off of Cross’s upcoming new album entitled Take Me As I am.

Choosing to get some of the big ones out of the way quickly, Cross performed ‘Sailing’ much to the delight of several members in the front section who could barely keep their excitement under control. Backed by an impressive six piece band, the song came to life and moved around the room with grace, many in the audience smiling to themselves; lost in the memories the notes had conjured. ‘Walking in Avalon’ which featured one of the funkiest bass solo’s that the Town Hall had ever had the pleasure of hearing, was also a chance for many in the band to show off their skills, Andy Suzuki on saxophone especially shining throughout the night. Another track off the upcoming album, which Cross explains is to be a very “pseudo instrumental record” entitled ‘Baby it’s All You’ seemed to be the perfect intro into one of Cross’s most well know songs of his career, that of ‘Arthur’s Theme’ (Best that you can do) which Cross dedicated to the one true great comedian (and hell of a piano player) himself Dudley Moore.

Cross would dedicate a few songs in his set tonight, including ‘In the Blink of an Eye’ which was for his parents currently residing in Texas and who all in the room tonight could appreciate are facing some horrendous struggles due to the recent flooding. After a bar stool is brought out onto stage, Cross advises the audience that he is going to perform a small group of acoustic songs, beginning with ‘Think of Laura’ dedicated to a dear friend of his who tragically died at the age of 19. While the tender song was indeed beautiful and felt even more majestic with the Town Hall’s organ towering behind it, it would have been nice to have seen the visuals that Cross had been using for not only this track but several others at previous shows on this tour. The acoustic set saw both Marcia and Stephcynie sing individually with Cross, Stephcynie in particular an absolute stand out with her pure dulcet tones; Cross himself dancing along the delicate edge of the falsetto register, never once losing his footing.

As the evening began to wind up, Cross and co began to pick up the pace a little, ‘Minstrel Gigolo’ with its rather amusing lyrics that speak of the power of a musician to make ‘all the young and lonely girls’ heart’s open shortly followed by ‘All Right’ with it’s very catchy chorus and jaunty rhythm. At this point the usually rather static Cross sauntered across the stage dropping little flourishes from his guitar like dew drops as he went before returning to centre stage and ripping out a stirring little solo. Yes, while the majority of Cross’s songs fall easily into the category of easy listening, Cross is also very much the accomplished guitar player and can certainly jam with the best of them.

Closer of the night was the rocky ‘Ride Like The Wind’, which saw many a patron jump into the isles to be able to dance along to the faster paced song. While a few older members of the audience made a bee line straight for the doors upon its conclusion, the rest quickly began to stamp their feet and call for an encore which was delivered just a few moments later by a smiling Cross. ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon a seemingly fitting end to the night considering the musical journey we had all just travelled over the last thirty years of his work. “Y’all be good to each other” Cross called out as he waved goodbye to the audience, a sentiment that we indeed all should live by.

Christopher Cross performing live in Auckland, New Zealand, 2017. Image by Sarah Kidd.

Were you there at the Auckland Town Hall for this easygoing easy listening gig? Or have you seen Christopher Cross perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below!