Live Review: Crowded House (for The Music Network)

10 November 2010

by Poppy Reid

Hordern Pavilion, Sydney
Saturday November 6

Straight off the back of their UK Intriguer tour, Crowded House proved they won’t be known just for the classics at Sydney’s brimming Hordern Pavillon on Saturday night.

Opening with Saturday Sun, the first single from the band's second post-reunion album Intriguer, the band eased us into an intertwined set of new and old. “Saturday night back in the Hordern Pavilion. Oh glory be,” said frontman Neil Finn.

The last time the kiwi/Aussie darlings played the venue was with their original drummer, the late Paul Hester and the ensuing tracks Fall At Your Feet and Don’t Stop Now seemed fitting for the more nostalgic devotees.

Bringing us forward again to Intriguer, the four-piece performed the backing for the title track as competition winner Sarah took on the vocals. Unfortunately this track along with other newbie’s like Isolationand Archer’s Arrows (where Neil’s wife Sharon joined the band onstage), were treated as unwelcome fillers and even saw a few crowd members take obvious drink slash bathroom breaks.

Delivering a compromise, classics like World Where You Live, Don’t Dream It’s Over and It’s Only Natural grew extended limbs that built up a layered, experimental sound and pushed boundaries far from their familial genre structure. Having said that, when Neil did ditched the guitar for a synth table, his idiosyncratic jumping jacks and nods reminded us they are still the Crowdies we know and love.

The intended five-song encore grew to six with an audience request for Recurring Dream. Weather With You was weaved with snippets ofOnce In A Lifetime, Money’s No Object and Relax.

“Do we just keep going or do we bring it to a glorious climax?” Neil bantered before his take on Frankie Goes To Hollywood track,Relax. “…don’t do it, when you wanna fuck to it,” he sang.

Fingers Of Love saw lesbians rejoice (really, they did) and final track and standout sing-a-long, Better Be Home Soon, was executed to a swaying Pavilion.

Crowded House marked their 25^th year together with fervor, proving they haven’t lost their youthful humour, hunger to grow or their ability to win over any skeptic traditionalists.