LIVE: CROWDED HOUSE with VERA ELLEN & ANGIE COLEMAN – Perth, 29 Nov 2024

LIVE: CROWDED HOUSE with VERA ELLEN & ANGIE COLEMAN – Perth, 29 Nov 2024
Kings Park Botanic Gardens, Perth, Western Australia
Reviewed by Shane Pinnegar
Photography by Linda Dunjey

It’s a beautiful evening in Boorloo/Perth: it’s been a hot one at the tail end of Kambarang/Spring, the evening is sultry and mellow and as warm as a long, firm hug, and a sellout crowd pours into Kaarta Koomba/Kings Park to see Crowded House on the first night of their Australian tour.

Angie Coleman is first on stage, just her resonating voice and a guitar and a collection of fine songs that – if anything – are more winding down music than ramping up tunes, so the crowd remains pretty sedate. Guarded, a cover of Mazzy Star’s sublime Fade Into You and Out Of The Headlights show some much-needed sparks. If this were a Sunday session her set would have been perfect, but tonight needed to capture some of the collective excitement buzzing around the park.

Considerably more upbeat is Vera Ellen – the singer or the band, depending on who you talk to. Indeed, she refers to the band and herself interchangeably through their sunny, bright and bouncy set. The Kiwi quintet are resplendent in primary coloured… I want to say velour or velvet pyjama suits and dresses. It’s a striking look and goes rather well with the music.

YOU!, Crack the Whip and Heartbreak For Jetlag keep the spirits buoyant; Broadway Junction is dramatic and cinematic; and closer Then There Was You ended on a high note.

There’s no sign of first night of the tour nerves for Crowded House – just as there’s no sign of the ravages of time on main man Neil Finn. He’s long been an Antipodean legend, ever since joining his big brother’s band Split Enz in 1977, and his voice remains immaculate today.

They start strong with Mean to Me and World Where You Live, then there’s Teenage Summer – the first of five songs from this year’s Gravity Stairs album. We’d never question Finn’s talents as a musician or songwriter, but the newer songs aren’t only unfamiliar to most of the crowd, they’re also not in the same instantly catchy league as the band’s classics, resulting in energy levels rising and falling a little. That’s not to say the songs aren’t enjoyable – but immersing in a song you know and love and can sing along to because its melody is irresistible, is very different from focussing on a less instant tune which you need to absorb.

That said, the band are exemplary – long time collaborators Nick Seymour on bass and Mitchell Froome on keyboards meld perfectly with Liam & Elroy Finn on guitar and drums respectively, while percussionist Paul Taylor gets a workout adding bells and whistles and all manner of other instruments to the mix. You may be tempted to cry “nepotism” hearing that Finn’s two sons are now official band members, but rest assured their talent is unquestionable, their contributions unequivocal, their places well deserved.

Finn jokes about camping in a tent in Kings Park for the nights they’re here (three consecutive shows), he and Seymour interplay like the old friends they are, and the band collectively sound as sweet as syrup pouring into your ears. It’s a joy to hear the likes of Fall At Your Feet, When You Come, the Split Enz classics Message To My Girl and I Got You, Private Universe and Four Seasons In One Day.

Elroy Finn’s band Elroy are represented by brand new single – out today – The Other, which is funky and lithe. Finn the elder somehow manages to pull out Liam’s guitar cord with his own guitar cord in what he terms a “weird accident” – Liam responding that he’s going to retaliate by putting his fingers in a bowl of water while he sleeps.

This fun vibe continues throughout the show, Private Universe is rendered almost with a tribal Burundi beat, Nick Seymour introduces Sister Madly “as Paul would say, let’s play a sexy song” (it’s the only overt mention of late drummer Paul Hester, but his presence is felt throughout), and Neil particularly seems legitimately thrilled at the constant singing and clapping and dancing by the crowd.

Liam takes the mic for The Howl, and it’s worth noting that he’s brought a lot of oomph to the sound all night long – not least in some inspired guitar soloing and raunchy playing.

Locked Out, Don’t Dream It’s Over and Distant Sun end the main set on a glorious high – this band are just so good, the venue wonderful, the sound pristine, the night sublime.

The magical and intoxicating combination continues through an extended encore which starts with Weather With You, Something So Strong and Chocolate Cake. “You’re good – you’re magnificent,” remarks Finn, echoing eight thousand thoughts about his band.

“I’ll play a chord, you sing whatever comes to mind,” he tells his bandmates, leading Liam to launch into Shaggy’s It Wasn’t Me, which morphs through a very brief flirtation with Stevie Nicks’ Edge Of Seventeen, a fair chunk of Talking Heads’ Road To Nowhere and Hot Chocolate’s You Sexy Thing. The medley seems spontaneous and as much fun for the band as for the crowd.

Almost two and a quarter hours after they started, it’s time to head home – but not before the ubiquitous Better Be Home Soon, and with eight thousand and five happy people singing in unison – what a sterling, magical way to finish a show.

Set List:

Mean to Me
World Where You Live
Teenage Summer
Fall at Your Feet
Oh Hi
When You Come
To the Island
Either Side of the World
Night Song
Message to My Girl (Split Enz cover)
The Other (Elroy cover)
Fingers of Love
(Neil accidentally pulled out Liam’s guitar chord whilst playing)
Private Universe
Magic Piano
Four Seasons in One Day
Sister Madly
The Howl
I Got You (Split Enz cover)
Locked Out
Don’t Dream It’s Over
Distant Sun

Encore:
Weather With You
Something So Strong
Chocolate Cake
Medley including Shaggy – It Wasn’t Me, Stevie Nicks – Edge of Seventeen, Talking Heads – Road to Nowhere, Hot Chocolate – You Sexy Thing
Better Be Home Soon

Category: Live Reviews, Photo Galleries