Crowded House, Napier NZ, 2021

Crowded House

27th March 2021
Church Road Winery, Napier, New Zealand.

Review by Rob Harbers, historic feature photograph by Doug Peters.

After a career spanning 35 years, off and on, Crowded House are completing their current “To The Island” tour with two nights at Church Road Winery, and the prospect of missing them should be enough to inspire major FOMO in anyone, based on the first night’s performance. This is a residency that, but for the brief recurrence of Covid a few weeks ago, would have been the second stop on the tour, but the delay has been to the benefit of Hawkes Bay with the band having had a longer time to get in the groove. In fact, the whole tour could be said to be one of the silver linings to the Covid cloud, as under better conditions the band would more likely be on the European circuit. A great opportunity then to catch a world-class show right on our own doorstep.

The evening was kicked off with a dose of The Beths’ Britpop-influenced sound. Their enthusiastic and energetic playing won themselves some new fans, based on comments I heard from those around me. A good fit for an evening expected to revolve around a degree of nostalgia for the late 80s-early 90s period in which both Britpop and Crowded House were at their zenith, in terms of popular culture.

From the moment that Crowded House took to the stage, with the redolent “Weather With You”, it was obvious that this was going to be a show to remember. While much of the material is from the golden period referred to above, the energy and passion with which it was delivered was enough to keep it fresh. Not so much 35 years old, as 18 with 17 years experience!

In any era there may be a few acts whose music defines and encapsulates their time, and the fact that Neil Finn has been involved with two of them, in the form of Split Enz and Crowded House, shows the talent and skill he has. These are the songs of generations, fully deserving of their places in the heart, being delivered by a band very much on top of their game and are a definite drawcard for the seats still available for Sunday night’s second gig of the pair. Not to mention the chance to see adopted Kiwi Nick Seymour modelling a kilt in the New Zealand tartan! (No spoilers or descriptions here, you’ll have to see for yourself).

The skill of the performance was beautifully complemented by the lighting, using a small set of highly mobile projection screens to great effect, as particularly highlighted during “Silent House”, the song originally collaborated on with The (Dixie) Chicks, with its sombre themes of missing those who have left this realm. “Private Universe” was suitably atmospheric also, with its accompanying imagery perfectly apposite to the slow burning feel of the song.

A couple of numbers (“Playing with Fire” and recent single “To The Island”) saw The Beths’ return to the stage to provide additional backing vocals, having, according to Neil, practiced the songs on the road between gigs. Obviously time well spent, judging by the results.

Keyboards are the domain of Mitchell Froom, who was the original contributor of the Hammond organ tones to “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, thus giving the song its distinctive sound, which saw it propelled to the heights in the charts around the world in 1986. In fact, the band initially wanted Mitchell to join, but he chose to further his career as a producer, capitalising on the repute earned by producing, among other projects, the band’s first three albums. So very much a closing of the loop in this regard, with long-held intentions finally coming to fruition.

Having literally grown up touring with the band, sons Liam and Elroy Finn (on guitar and drums respectively), had much to contribute also, with a notable feature being the number of opportunities for soloing generously granted Liam by an obviously proud dad. No nepotism here though, both of them displaying every right to their places by sheer talent!

The set ranged far and deep across the band’s wide repertoire, with the big songs underpinned by a choice selection of some of the slightly deeper cuts. Material to suit both the casual and the connoisseur, one might say. The context in which the songs were played also allowed Neil to give us the odd insight into the processes behind some of them, such as the revelation that the opening lines of “Pineapple Head” were originally uttered by a fever-addled 7 year old Liam! Explains a little, that does.

Ultimately, though, my words can only do so much – if they convince you that this is a show you want to see, they’ll have achieved their aim. If, for any reason at all you are wavering over whether or not to go on Sunday night, take my advice and do it – there’s no good reason not to, if you can. Sure, it’s a school night with untrustworthy Monday on its tail, but that’s what artificial stimulants are for! And it’s a short week this week, so you’ve only got 80% of the usual days to get through – all of it worth it to make the best of such a rare opportunity!

Were you there at Church Road Winery for this brilliant performance? Or have you seen Crowded House perform live somewhere else before? Tell us about it in the comments below! 

Set List:

1. Weather With You
2. Mean To Me
3. World Where You Live
4. In My Command
5. Whatever You Want
6. Fall At Your Feet
7. Whispers And Moans
8. Playing With Fire
9. Pineapple Head
10. When You Come
11. Private Universe
12. Silent House
13. Four Seasons
14. To The Island
15. Nails In My Feet
16. Locked Out
17. Don’t Dream It’s Over
18. Something So Strong
19. Distant Sun
20. Chocolate Cake [encore]
21. Heroes [David Bowie Cover] [encore]
22. Better Be Home Soon [encore]

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