Neil Finn and Crowded House deliver unforgettable Auckland ...
“I’ve gotta turn my light off so I can preserve my battery because we’re going up Rangitoto tonight to camp,” Neil Finn joked with the audience after their first song.
While the faces on stage may have changed, the Aria Hall of Fame-inducted band’s music felt just as powerful as ever.
Crowded House, which originally included the late Paul Hester, Nick Seymour and briefly, Finn’s brother Tim, still features Seymour, as well as the band’s original producer Mitchell Froom, and now Finn’s two sons Liam and Elroy.
“I feel very blessed to be amongst you and to be in Auckland, and I aim to be spending some good summer months here,” Finn told the crowd.
A few songs in, my personal favourite, Fall at Your Feet, evoked the first real moment of collective awe.
After performing the song as a band, the mic was turned to the audience, who joined Finn in an acoustic rendition.
Throughout the performance Finn bantered with his bandmates, especially his sons.
“We all want to have the last word – that’s what happens over a long tour, you just want to have the last word. You’ll notice Liam is jumping in on quite a few of the last notes,” Finn said.
In response, Liam said: “Just living my best life, Dad.”
“Can’t argue with that. It’s all I could hope for you, son.”
The crowd was relatively subdued for most of their set – there were times when I wanted to shake everyone to their feet, as the high level of energy coming from the stage was met with a muted reception.
However, about an hour in, a few battlers on the ground floor formed a mosh pit by the stage, and by the time the band played Four Seasons in One Day, half the audience was standing.
When Don’t Dream it’s Over came on, almost everyone was dancing to the anthem.
“It’s only how you begin and how you end that matters – it’s an analogy that’s true of all life,” Finn told the crowd.
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Katie Harris is an Auckland-based journalist who usually covers social issues including sexual assault, workplace misconduct, crime and justice. She joined the Herald in 2020.
