Aussie heart-pop superstars Crowded House made their return to Los Angeles last Friday, bringing a sorely-missed visit from melody magician and frontman Neil Finn. Crowded House’s reunion in 2006 — following a 10-year break and the death of the band’s original drummer, Paul Hester — has revitalized both band and audience with a successful new album (Intriguer) and a reenergized live show.
Finn was in casual mode Friday night at Club Nokia, where he led the latest incarnation of Crowded House through a two-hour show that played an even hand between old songs and new material from their recent Intriguer album, dabbling generously in Split Enz tracks as well without pandering too heavily to the hits.
I'd never have expected Crowded House to engage in anything resembling a jam session, given that the beautiful architecture of Finn’s songs are varied and nuanced enough to keep the listener engaged. It's a rare compliment for an artist to possess enough variety of arrangement, structure and melody to render extemporaneous musical wandering unnecessary. Nevertheless, tracks like “Distant Sun” and “Hole in the River” grew legs of their own, building an exploratory sound that pushed the boundaries of familiarity within the structure.
A spell of technical difficulty led to some joking banter, along with a random improv that the crowd took utter delight in. That, it seems, is the key to a Crowded House live show; when it came time for the audience to sing along, boy did they ever. Everyone knew their parts and counterparts, and fully harmonized as a whole, unprovoked by the band. It was one of those breathtaking moments that feels far bigger than anything a casual fan can understand.
Pearl Jam, just one of many Crowded House disciples, has worked wonders in taking a page from their book, building heartfelt anthemics at their shows during which the crowd can completely take a song over and drown out the band entirely (see: "Better Man," "Small Town").
Massive singalong “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and long-missed “Locked Out” arrived as fresh and vital as ever, somehow, and it was nothing short of euphoric when the band took a hard left during set-peaker “Weather With You,” dropping a dose of Talking Heads’ “Once in a Lifetime” in the jam.
With a vast array of material, Finn could've kept the party going all night. Talking nuisances in the audience were silenced by their peers, and though their second-biggest U.S. hit "Something So Strong" was missing from the set, Crowded House left nobody wanting at the end of the heartwarming, engaging and memorable two-hour set.
Crowded House Tour Dates
Sun 08/01/10 Atlanta, GA The Tabernacle
Mon 08/02/10 Nashville, TN Ryman Auditorium
Wed 08/04/10 Austin, TX Stubb’s Bar-B-Q / Waller Creek Amph.
Thu 08/05/10 Dallas, TX House Of Blues
Thu 08/19/10 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia
Fri 08/20/10 Los Angeles, CA Club Nokia
Sun 08/22/10 San Diego, CA Humphrey’s Concerts By The Bay
Mon 08/23/10 San Francisco, CA Warfield Theatre
Tue 08/24/10 Saratoga, CA The Mountain Winery
Thu 08/26/10 Troutdale, OR McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
Sat 08/28/10 Woodinville, WA Chateau Ste. Michelle Winery
Sun 08/29/10 Vancouver, BC Queen Elizabeth Theatre
Mon 08/30/10 Victoria, BC Royal Theatre
Wed 09/01/10 Edmonton, AB Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Thu 09/02/10 Calgary, AB Southern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium
Sat 09/04/10 Apple Valley, MN Minnesota Zoo Amphitheater
Sun 09/05/10 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Mon 09/06/10 Chicago, IL House Of Blues
Find out more at the official Crowded House website.
