Ha ha. You couldn't wait for me to get here!
5 days after getting home I am still completely zonked and fried. The next leg of Crowded House crazy train in about...4 weeks, will surely kill me as it will be twice as long.
However, no general admission shows (boo) and just in case rushing to the stage becomes a possibility, note to myself to ensure I have safety pins in my luggage to avoid another *accident" as happened in Toronto.
In order to work off some negative mojo that seems to be clinging to me the last couple times I've seen Crowded House..I have dug up some incredible reviews for your reading pleasure:
Crowded House tours with a magical showGently, Neil Finn took the clock off of the wall.
The Crowded House frontman flipped the timepiece over and laid it facedown in the center of the stage. The message was unmistakable: Forget house rules, forget about catching trains, forget about the rigorously enforced curfew at New York’s Bowery Ballroom. Let yourself be spellbound.
The staff at the mid-size concert house might not have been amused by Finn’s impish act of civil disobedience. But the crowd loved it. For more than two hours Monday — when the band kicked off a three-night Ballroom stand, preceding two Jersey shows this weekend — they listened to Finn and his three bandmates sing about time and isolation, longing and loneliness, love and wonder. The group played world-famous songs with heart-stopping melodies (“Don’t Dream It’s Over,” “Four Seasons in One Day,” “I Feel Possessed”), flooded the hall with elegant psychedelia, and even let its lead guitarist sing a country number. Between songs, the musicians kidded around with their fans, many of whom had traveled long distances to catch an intimate show by a band accustomed to playing to gigantic crowds Down Under.
Mild mischief contributes to the magic. (“Wild but safe, that’s our mantra,” Finn said, half-jokingly.) The rest of the enchantment can be attributed to the New Zealand-born Finn’s songwriting. Crowded House’s songs are often narrated by characters wrestling with titanic emotions at critical moments in their lives. Many are waiting for inspiration, release or transcendence. Finn animates these characters with compassion and matches the stories to music that crests and swells like the sea.
The songs aren’t always linear, but they’re poetic and often turn on evocative phrases.
“The words and the melody have to be a double act that creates a single feeling,” said Finn, 52, reached by phone before Monday’s concert. “They’ve got to be well integrated. The melody always comes first for me. I may have a simple phrase to start out with, and if I’m having a lucky day, the rest of the lyrics will pop out.
“The meaning of the song is important to the extent that the words resonate for listeners. Lines should pop out. They should open doors in people’s brains.”
When they do, those doors can swing right off the hinges. During Finn’s songs, the pace of his words — and his ideas — often accelerates. First verses are brief; final verses can be an avalanche of impressions. Unlike many modern pop bands that attempt to sustain an even, unbroken tone through their recordings, Crowded House’s songs always follow a dynamic trajectory.
“Sometimes it’s about creating a sense of excitement,” says the songwriter. “Sometimes it’s me getting excited. When we’re working on a new song, jamming in rehearsal, getting vibed up by the music, I will often sing nonsense in a state of enthusiasm. Then I’ll transcribe my nonsense, and sometimes — not always — I’ll be surprised that I’ve got something there.”
In concert, the frontman’s delight can be infectious. The crowd at the Ballroom was determined to mirror the singer’s excitement. On “Fall at Your Feet,” a ballad Finn identifies as a favorite, he enlisted the audience to sing two relatively complex backing parts. The house took the assignment seriously. As the harmonies locked into place, he stepped back from the microphone and beamed.
It’s good to see him smiling again. Former drummer Paul Hester’s suicide inspired many of the songs on 2007’s “Time on Earth,” a rewarding but occasionally harrowing set. “Intriguer,” the band’s recently released album, lightens the mood while maintaining the band’s sense of gravity.
“I don’t think it’s particularly sad,” said Finn. “At least it isn’t as sad as some of the songs on the last one. I’ve always been attracted to songs that have a sweet quality.”
In Australia, where Crowded House is revered, “Intriguer” made its debut atop the charts. The new album is selling well in Finn’s native country, too, but the band’s audience there isn’t always as warm as the one they have on the far side of the Tasman Sea.
“In Australia, we’ve reached a critical mass. There’s a huge amount of good will and affection there, and we take that very seriously. In New Zealand, there’s a slight standoffishness. They’re not as impressed.”
Nevertheless, Finn will always be remembered as one of the first New Zealand pop stars to achieve international recognition. Although he’s shaken free from the notorious isolation felt by residents at the end of earth, the singer still identifies with outsiders of all kinds.
“I do feel like an underdog. In America, you’re permanently in underdog mentality. It’s okay. It can be mined, exploited. It makes you exotic.”
Crowded House, with Lawrence Arabia and the Prime Ministers opening
Where and when: Wellmont Theatre, 5 Seymour St., Montclair, Friday; House of Blues, 801 Boardwalk, Atlantic City, Saturday. Both shows at 8 p.m.
How much: 28-$43 for Wellmont; visit wellmonttheatre.com. $35-$45 for House of Blues; call (609) 236-BLUE.
link to this:
www.nj.com/entertainment/music/index.ssf/2010/07/crowded_house_tours_with_a_mag.html******
Crowded House still 'Intriguing' fans
They brought us hits like 'Don't Dream It's Over' and 'Weather With you' and now, 24 years later, Crowded House has released a sixth album.
Jul 22, 2010
Led by frontman Neil Finn, the four-man band are on a tour of the US and Canada to promote the ten-track album, entitled Intriguer.
Finn and Bassist Nick Seymour says the long hiatus hasn't left them rusty at all.
"We're playing the best we've ever played, I think," says Seymour.
And frontman Finn, agrees.
"Yeah, I think we are. We're in fine form. We're enjoying each other's company too, more to the point. We actually like each other. Makes it easier. Quite a radical concept for bands, but we do enjoy each other's company."
The band enjoyed huge success in the late 1980s with their self-titled first album.
Two of the album's songs - Don't Dream It's Over and Something So Strong both made it onto the top ten of the US Billboard charts.
They then had worldwide success once again with their compilation album Recurring Dream which was released following their fourth album.
But Finn says that this time around, there is far less pressure to succeed.
"Back in the day there was a whole machine built around Crowded House and it's like any band that's doing quite well, we were having a good run, but I found an overwhelming claustrophobia within it. Whereas now it feels free and really unrestricted," Finn says.
And what does he want his fans to experience?
"You know, a good night out first and foremost. Comfort, if they need it. Inspiration. A good laugh. A tune to carry around in their heads everyday. That would be a delightful outcome."
The band is on tour in cities across the US and Canada until September 6th.
-Reuters
And even more exciting...Brian, I wonder if you've ever heard of this guy..he does a music blog and is apparently highly respected by muso's and musicians alike:
Bob Lefsetz:
I'm crying.
This weekend the buzz was about "Inception". Movies are great, but they can't touch you like a song. Like "Message To My Girl". By Split Enz.
You haven't heard it. I had it on a cassette. I remember playing it in my old car with my old wife. It reminds me of a time gone by. But unlike the greatest music, it loses nothing over time, it's still alive today.
My favorite Napster downloads are "Liar", by Argent, a cover of "Like A Rolling Stone" performed by Michael Hedges and "Message To My Girl" by Split Enz with the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. I wasn't going to write about "Message To My Girl", but I found it tacked on in a video to the song I did want to write about, "Amsterdam". The live version of the latter is not as good as the studio take. The recording is not perfect. Unlike the impression I got from the title, the two songs don't run together, there's a break, they're separate. And then Neil Finn sits down at the keyboard and renders the essence of music.
Music is not about perfection. Because life isn't either. That's the illusion being proffered. That if you just get enough plastic surgery, your life will work. But ask Heidi Montag. And Kim Kardashian may be smiling in public, but she's got a string of failed relationships behind her. She's crying on the inside, but smiling for the camera.
We're all crying on the inside. But we can no longer show it. But what do we do with these emotions? Music used to speak to our inner life, before it became about hits and videos and money. Sure, it was always about money, but before you could make enough to buy a professional sports team, the main driver for music creation was feeling. The goal was to get what was inside down on wax. Frequently, it wasn't even about the recording, but the evanescent live recording.
Which is now captured.
At first Neil Finn's vocal is so perfect, you can't believe it, you're stunned, it's as good as the recording. Then he stretches and reveals his frailties. The same way you adore someone from afar and get to know them and discover their imperfections. Yes, this rendition of "Message To My Girl" is humanity on parade.
And "Message To My Girl" is so good, I'm always interested in what Mr. Finn does. On the last Crowded House album there's a song that still shocks me when I hear it on my iPod (twice at random in the last week!) That track is "Silent House".
"Amsterdam" is not as good as either. But there's a killer change that touches your heart and makes you want to see the band live, to get ever closer.
Either you're a flash in the pan, playing to everybody on Top Forty radio, or you're playing to your fans. Don't worry about anybody beyond the ropes, maybe they'll hear the sound and come 'round, but odds are they won't. Your only hope is your core supports you and testifies to its friends, dragging them to the gig (which must be priced low so they can go!), playing them your music.
We've been taught otherwise. Everything in life is quantified, as if you carved a notch in the headboard every time you had sex. But that's not true. Life is really a bunch of unconnected moments that we try to make sense of. And we make sense of them by going to the gig, to be touched by life.
"Now I wake up happy
Warm in a lover's embrace"
That's what we all want. To stop sleeping alone. To be in bed with someone we trust, who loves us.
"No one else can touch us
While we're in this place"
That's the essence of not only relationships, but family. We bond together to protect ourselves from outside influences, trying to bring us down.
"So I sing it to the world
Simple message to my girl"
Can you take a risk? Can you reach out and try to connect? You'd be surprised how few can, even though they're dying to do so inside. And so many of those who cannot substitute music. The nerds, that's what they're getting from their fandom. It's a substitute for sex. Not quite as good, still pretty great.
"No more empty self-possession
Vision swept under the mat
It's no New Year's resolution
It's more than that"
This is not what you expected, probably not what you want, not even what I had planned. But if one is willing to follow the music, if one is willing to be open and free, one can live a life of transcendence.
You can listen to the take of "Amsterdam" if you want, but start around 3:55 to hear "Message To My Girl":
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and Bob does some follow up comments:
"Amsterdam"
Crowded House
I love the Internet. After writing about Neil Finn, I got e-mail from the gig, last night at the Bowery Ballroom, while it was still happening! In real time I found out that David Byrne hit the stage to join Crowded House on "Once In A Lifetime" and "Road To Nowhere"...and I got the MP3s...all before midnight on the west coast.
And my inbox has been filling up with testimonials by Split Enz/Crowded House/Finn fans. This is how you do it. Play to the core, who will come see you for $35 in an intimate venue. If you're playing to the very last row in a hockey rink, you're doing it wrong.
But that's not why I'm writing this...
Since yesterday I've played this track, "Amsterdam", in excess of thirty times. I couldn't stop. I couldn't help myself.
A brain synapse went off, had the band's new album been released yet? I searched in Napster on my Sonos system and started playing "Intriguer".
The opener, "Saturday Sun", was a disappointment. The follow-up, "Archer's Arrows" didn't reach me the first time through. And that's just the point. The fourth or fifth time through it did. That's what listening to albums is about. Finding one track you like so much that you go back through and discover others.
Although I'd be lying if I said I'm fully involved with "Archer's Arrows" yet. But I do love "Falling Dove". Sounds like falling rain in the early morning light, walking alone on a road surrounded by greenery. It was "Falling Dove" and "Twice If You're Lucky" that got me to playing the whole album.
Along with "Amsterdam", of course.
It's such a thrill to find one great track. Find two others on an album and you continue to spin the long player, delving deeper.
But I could barely listen to anything else, because my brain kept wanting to hear "Amsterdam".
You know how a song lodges in your brain and there's a change so good, aural heroin, that you can't help but listen to it again and again? That's what happened last night with "Amsterdam".
I spun the whole album on my midnight hike. But then when I hooked into "Amsterdam", I couldn't get off it, as I walked in the dark, past the horses, conducting the band with my hands.
And when I got home, like a smoker unable to quit, I had to put on the headphones and listen to "Amsterdam".
And as soon as I woke up, my drug was there. I didn't want to play it, but I had to. I needed music, this specific song, even though I was fearful of burning it out, having it lose its magic, its hold over me.
"Amsterdam" will never be on Top Forty radio. It's not for the masses, but the fans. Who always want more. Instead of an album every three years, Crowded House should dribble out the tracks, keep us attached, and possibly the world will change enough that the masses can discover a cut like "Amsterdam", not homogenized by executives for radio consumption, but straight from the artist's heart to the listener's ear.
Visit the archive:
lefsetz.com/wordpress/So...if you're interested in seeing David Byrne on stage with Crowded House at the Bowery Ballroom: check it out: