Audience

CDR

2

DVD 644; lineage: Church Audio CA11's/9v battery box/Edirol R-09/24bit_44.1khz/PC/Audicity -normalise channels/export to 16bit/CD wave for track splitting/Flac 8. 2 reviews from April 9, 2010 discuss show the previous evening (April 8), which is the correct date of this show.

Review 1

New Zealand Herald ñ Friday 9th April 2010
Russell Baillie

The dream is far from over as Crowded House enthrals loyal fans with old favourites and
their latest album tracks.

Crowded House, the version 2.0 of Neil Finn's band about to release the second album of
their post-reunion incarnation, finally emerged from the studio to christen their forthcoming
campaign with a hometown show.

But this wasn't just a cosy knees-up for the faithful, though there were inevitable outbreaks of
community singing to some old hits.

No, this was bit of extravaganza, a sort of Cirque du House.
It came complete with an MC in the form of Oscar Kightley and strange figures darting about
the stage, who weren't there to tune guitars.

It was bathed by a light show so dazzling - as well as featuring in a couple of songs the town
hall organ took on a visual life of its own care of beautifully warped digital projections - the
band sometimes became secondary.

And it also came with an audience sporting supplied cardboard teddy bear masks. That was
something to do with the album artwork, apparently. No doubt it will make sense on the
DVD.

And there were stage guests who ranged from Latin ballroom dancers on the bossa nova
Either Side of the World to - patriotic or what? - 10 guitars and their young owners.
Yes, 10 guys took to the choir stalls to add some extra layers to the churning Chills-ish chords
to new track Inside Out in what proved to be one of the night's madder rock'n'roll moments.

As Finn said at the end, this was a night that might have craved the audience's indulgence,
with almost all of new album Intriguer making up the 20 or so song set. It was also big on
psychedelic excursions of familiar material and the sort of seat-of-the-pants spontaneity that
marked the band in its heyday.

That included a synthesizer-powered dance jam which, as Finn quipped, was in the Crowded
House tradition of doing something off-the-cuff, only to find it undermined the drama of the
next song.

And the likes of Private Universe, already a fairly celestial number in previous incarnations,
reached one of its highest orbits yet.

While Finn, bassist Nick Seymour and guitarist-keyboardist Mark Hart were all in fine form,
the performance reminded us why it was a wise decision to recruit former Beck drummer
Matt Sherrod. Just as high science can start to resemble art, his fluid percussion had
something curiously melodic about it.

The band might have strayed outside the casual fan's comfort zone, but there was still plenty
of hardy perennials in the mix, including an encore of Don't Dream It's Over given a slight
funereal feel with its full-bodied pipe organ solo.

It all made for a colourful, unpredictable and memorable night. One that suggested that while
Finn's trusty old vehicle has a few miles on the clock, it's sounding all tuned up and raring to
explore both some old highways and some new territory off the beaten path.


Review 2

Stuff.co.nz - Friday 9th April 2010

Crowded House debuted 10 new songs during their second coming at the Town Hall in Auckland. Reviewer Marc Hinton was there.

Crowded House

Where: Town Hall, Auckland
When: Thursday, April 8th

Neil Finn thanked us for letting them be so indulgent. But for those lucky enough to be at the Auckland Town Hall for an intriguing pre-album release gig from New Zealand's best band, the indulgence was all ours.
Intriguer is the band's new album due out in June, and based on the fairly extensive airing of 10 tracks from it, itís going to be yet another gratefully received offering from these musical maestros.

It marks a slight deviation from Crowded House's previous style, with what Finn calls an attempt to "psychadelis-ise a few things," but the new stuff merged seamlessly with the crowd-pleasers and had the vocal chords of the faithful in full stream.
Of course it was the Crowded House standards ñ and there were plenty of them scattered throughout the 22-song set ñ that the full house at the Town Hall had come to hear.
But it seemed Neil and the boys were determined to educate fans with liberal lashings of the second album of their post-reunion incarnation.

As is their right. "This is an opportunity to let you in on the new record we've made," mused Finn at the start of the evening. And later: "We craved your indulgence, and you indulged us. Thank you."

The boys ñ Finn, fellow founding member Nick Seymour on bass, "utility" man Mark Hart and fabulous drummer Matt Sherrod ñ were in outstanding form, and their show incorporated the venue's centrepiece: A stunning recently refurbished organ.
You really had to be there, but there was a certain symmetry about listening to the marvellous melodies of Crowded House at their best while a dazzling light show saw the imposing organ hovering behind them brought to life in vivid fashion.
As a stunning visual backdrop it worked a treat, and the grand old organ was even used on a couple of occasions as Crowded House made full use of an array of extras who kept things busy on a night when you pretty much expected the unexpected.

Fans were initially treated to cuddly little face masks and asked to wear them at a pre-arranged moment ñ something to do with the new album's cover art ñ but it was the next† two-and-a-quarter hours that felt the most comfortable.
Finn had hinted at a special night at the Auckland venue he admitted was a "place full of memories," with their album to familiarise fans with and a looming world tour to warm up for, and they delivered, well, something so strong. Just like we all knew they would.

Letís face it, Crowded House are at a stage in their career when there are no surprises. Polished performers with a bulging back catalogue and dedicated fan base ñ never before have I heard an entire venue sing along when bade in such reverential and tuneful fashion ñ their reputation most definitely precedes them.
You turn up expecting to get these four lads at the top of their game, with a smile on their faces and a hint of mischief in their delivery, and they most definitely donít disappoint.
Finn's vocals are as strong as ever, his deviations to the keyboards underlining what a splendid musician he is. On drums Sherrod reminds us of the pedigree that has seen Finn compare him with the sadly departed Paul Hester, fellow Split Enzer and a Crowded House original. Seymour is, well, Seymour, and Hart shuffles between his keyboards and guitar with ease.

Yes, the lads were on their game all right. The crowd lapped up the hits, starting with opener Mean to Me, through to Fall At Your Feet, Four Seasons In One Day, Distant Sun, Private Universe and closers Weather With You, World Where You Live and Donít Dream Itís Over they were delivered in time-honoured fashion.
When Finn asked his audience to join him for an acoustic interlude in Donít Dream It's Over, it was a magical moment as the old venue crackled with energy. But it was only one of many on a memorable evening.

It was a show that was busy ñ 10 youngsters on guitar were rolled out at one stage, a pair of Latin dancers at another, and there was always that light show that kept that massive organ strobing away in the background ñ but at the same time was beautiful. Don McGlashan was even there to pitch in when needed.
On this form, Crowded House can easily continue to do what theyíve pretty much done for the last quarter of a century: Entertain and enlighten, like only this Kiwi band can do.

644

0