Crowded House, Wellington NZ, 2021

Crowded House

15th March 2021
TSB Bank Arena, Wellington, New Zealand.

Review by Tim Gruar. Photography by Stella Gardiner.

So here’s the thing. Crowded House, in its new reincarnation, should have been in the middle of a world tour by now. But, for obvious reasons, us Kiwi’s are the lucky ones who get this new Crowded House tour before the rest of the world.

This is not the Crowded House we last saw on tour, way back in 2011. Years have gone by and personnel have moved off to other things. Matt Sherrod, who stepped behind Paul Hester’s drum kit from 2007 and featured on the last album, ‘Intriguer’, has not joined this tour. Nor have the usual collaborators like Eddie Raynor.  But on the plus side having the Crowdies’ producer/mentor for their first three albums, Mitchell Froom, on board (playing keys) is quite special. He was always supposed to be in the band – producing music for acts a varied as the Bangles and Bonnie Raitt stole him away. He’s responsible for the church organ ‘feel’ on ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’, plus a myriad of other sounds and scapes that made that ‘Crowded House’ and the two follow ups the sonic juggernauts they were to become.

Putting together a band who all live overseas is a mission at the best of times. But in Covid days it’s even worse. Mitchell managed to squeeze in his 14 days at a Christchurch MIQ facility after being locked down in the USA for the best part of a year. Original member, Bassist Nick Seymour also rocked out in hotel quarantine in Auckland after flying in from his home in Ireland. ‘We had to keep them separate,” Neil said on his ‘Fangradio’ podcast, “for the good of the country.” Add to that honorary members from birth and Finn whanau members, Liam on guitar and Elroy on drums and we have this new version of Crowded House.

And so, tonight. Wellingtonians were in a fine mood. Team New Zealand had just won two races today against Italy, the Capital’s famous wind had decided to sleep it off and the weekend’s sunshine was continuing long into the evening. And best of all the Finns and co. were finally here!

It all opened with the multi-award nominated Reb Fountain and band. She’s just been recommended for the Taite Music Awards for her latest, self-titled album. Her set was a mix of new stuff and covers, including a very sweet version of Peggy Seeger’s ‘Swim To The Star’ and new one, ‘Hey Mom’, written in lockdown. Fountain still has whanau in the Northern hemisphere and you could hear that longing to reach out and touch really coming through.

Last time I saw Reb was at WOMAD. Since then, she’s being getting plenty of airplay for her album. Yet, I got the feeling this particular audience probably didn’t really know who she was. Which was a shame because they were really missing out. “You are very attentive”, she says after one number. Wellington audiences are usually pretty quiet and polite, which often floors international acts, used to more interactivity. But ‘Sampson’, with all its intensity makes them stand up and take notice. The stage is dark and moody, washed in reds and blues, amongst a bottomless blackness. It makes the big stage small and intimate. A perfect setting for Reb and her three-piece.

They finish on her Patty Smith-esque whisperer ‘Don’t You Know Who I am’, which finally blows the house down with its attitude and swagger. Finally the audience has noticed. Plenty of chatter as patrons head to the bar – “Who was that?”

“Haere Mai! Wellington, Welcome,” Neil calls out as the Crowdies kick off with a few big favs – ‘Weather With You’, ‘Mean to Me’, ‘World Where You Live’. Almost full to capacity, the floor was standing room only. And stand, they did. A few complained there were no seats. Their moshing days were over. Nobody moved too much. Too many dodgy hips and bad ankles. True there was an over-representation of balding heads and grey hair – both on and off the stage – but everyone was still enjoying themselves. Just not as rigorously as back when they first bought ‘Temple of Low Men’ on vinyl.

The set is all reds and whites and blues, big white clouds and odd geometric shapes hovering above. During the ‘Theme Song’, ‘To the Island’ the shapes turn over into long, white clouds, back lit by the colours of sunsets and dawning. It’s very effective.

There are plenty of highlights in the show. It ebbs and flows between loud and brash and quiet, atmospheric, dark and contemplative. ‘Private Universe’ is particularly impressive, with Mitchell and Liam creating swirling sonic clouds of sound – close your eyes and you could almost imagine Mark Hart had snuck back on stage under the cover of darkness. ‘When You Come’ is another standout, Mitchell and Liam again building layer upon layer of swirling intensity to a huge sonic crescendo. This is possibly the best song of the night.

Elroy might not play with the same quirkiness as Paul Hester did but his drumming is deft and often more nuanced. He’s helped out on a number of songs by percussionist Paul Taylor – “The man with the perfect ‘cup’, I think,” says Neil, referring to Taylor’s hand skills on the bongos.

‘Locked Out’ was perfectly raging, with bolts of red and white lighting and a searing guitar performance from Liam. Another great moment was the very contemplative ‘Silent House’, a tune from ‘Time on Earth’. One that I’d almost forgotten. “It’s about saying goodbye to the ones you love,” Neil informed us. As the song progressed, I was taken into my own thoughts where I met the memory of my own father, who passed a few years back. It was a powerful experience for me. Only fleeting but I’m grateful for that. So, thanks, Neil.

If anything, Crowded House are keeping the new stuff under wraps, drip feeding us new songs slowly, gig by gig. Keeping the old crowd happy, while providing glimpses of the new is order of the day. From the new we get ‘Whatever You Want’ (which dropped last year and already feels like an old staple) and, of course, ‘To The Island’. And we caught another glimpse of the new album with ‘Playing with Fire’ – a nicely jagged new wave-slash-Split Enz number that breaks into a 60’s style Beach Boys chorus, aided and abetted live by Reb Fountain and her band.

Most of the show was, as expected, a trip down memory lane. A few years ago, Neil embarked on a local tour enlisting students and volunteers to play his songs on stage with him. This felt a bit like that – only instead of amateurs, these were musicians that had the songs invested in their very DNA. This is especially true of Liam and Elroy. They are super talented, if not a little bit ‘show-offy’. At one point Liam hurls his guitar into the sky, narrowly missing the set but skilfully catching it. He’s a showman and a chip off the old block, too.

You would have thought that growing up in the ‘firm’, the boys would run a mile to avoid having to play ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. But no, they seemingly revelled in the experience. Blasting out ‘Pineapple Head (complete with a bit of Petulia Clark’s ‘Downtown’ inserted halfway in for good measure)’ and ‘Fall at Your Feet’ with dear old dad was a pure delight. As a dad myself, I couldn’t help feeling just a twinge of jealousy at the sheer musical talent of the Finn family. Von Trapps – eat your heart out!

Of course, there was plenty of good old fashioned Crowded House banter. Neil joked about Nick’s kilt – with its “tartan of New Zealand”. Liam and Elroy roasted their dad for telling lame stories about his day.
As I said earlier, it was a real treat to see Mitchell Froom, the man that provided that organ sound on ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’ and other hits from their debut, actually playing live, and sounding just like it does on the radio. Perfect!

‘Something So Strong’ finally gets the crowd moving. They’ve been singing all along, just not as enthusiastically or as raucously as they would have back in their twenties. The encores are great, Neil on keys gives us a very vaudevillian ‘Chocolate Cake’ and a near perfect cover of Bowies ‘Heroes’, with Liam channelling Fripp and Eno like he’d studied them since he was 5 years old – which he probably did.

Finally, the two-hour set completes, as promised on the box, with a rousing version of ‘Better be Home Soon’. “It’s so good to be playing music for people again,” Neil quips, “In the Real world. My God What a concept!” It really was!

Were you there at the ASB Arena in Wellington for this magnificent Pop gig? Or have you seen Crowded House perform live some other time? Tell us about it in the comments below!

Set List:

1. Weather With You
2. Mean to Me
3. World Where You Live
4. Whatever You Want
5. Fall at Your Feet
6. Whispers and Moans
7. Playing With Fire
8. Pineapple Head
9. When You Come
10. Private Universe
11. Four Seasons in One Day
12. To the Island
13. Nails in My Feet
14. Locked Out
15. Don’t Dream It’s Over
16. Something So Strong
17. Distant Sun
18. Chocolate Cake [encore]
19. “Heroes” [David Bowie cover] [encore]
20. Better Be Home Soon [encore]

Note: [AD] Live Nation provided passes to Ambient Light to review and photograph this concert. As always, this has not influenced the review in any way and the opinions expressed are those of Ambient Light’s only. This post contains an affiliate link. If you purchase a product using an affiliate link, Ambient Light will automatically receive a small commission.

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