Give It A Whirl

Since their induction into the ARIA Hall of Fame last year, the prospect of Split Enz’s return to Australian stages had been eagerly awaited and was always going to be a grand affair. On Sunday night at Rod Laver Arena, the line-up that recorded 1980’s True Colours album – Tim Finn, Neil Finn, Eddie Rayner, Nigel Griggs, Noel Crombie and Mal Green – whipped through hit after glorious hit, with the same idiosyncratic energy, enthusiasm and mischievous banter that would have been attracting punters to see them all those years ago.


The band shuffled on, under what looked like a big sheet, bobbling up and down clumsily as they made their way to the centre of the stage and threw off their shroud. A manic version of “Shark Attack”, followed swiftly by the eery “Poor Boy” kicked off the main set, with Tim Finn clearly in command and obviously enjoying himself. This was followed by Neil’s characteristically edgy “One Step Ahead”, and the spirited “Give It A Whirl”.

As well as all the big hits, it was great to see the inclusion of some perhaps lesser known numbers such as the vaudeville-style “Jamboree” (with a rightful nod to Phil Judd) which to my ears, typifies the sound of the early Enz. The band also breathed new life into the instrumental “Double Happy”, and to my mind, they pulled it off beautifully. The hilarious “Nobody Takes Me Seriously”, had Tim sounding just as perplexed and whingey as he does on the original recording.

It’s difficult to pick one sole highlight of the show because the highlights just kept on coming, and the band were generous with the treats they offered up to the adoring audience. Everything that a fan could have wished for, they got - from Noel Crombie venturing towards the front of the stage with his famous spoons and firmly finishing off “Straight Old Line”, to Neil’s gorgeous “Message To My Girl”, and Tim’s tearjerker, “Stuff And Nonsense”.


Although the band moved swiftly from one number to the next, there were still pauses for playful banter to break the flow. At a few points, you could be forgiven for thinking that you were at a Finn Brothers show, with Neil and Tim casually chatting away with one another, from reminiscing to their old Melbourne residences to locating former Enz member Mike Chunn in the audience to clear up a disagreement. As always, it was great to see Neil spinning around with his guitar, and Tim strut and flap his arms around, seemingly unaware of everyone else around him. Eddie Rayner even got a chance to indulge in some towel “flickage” later in the evening, after much egging on from Tim.

For me though, the most affecting songs couldn’t be much more different – the gentle “Charlie”, “I Hope I Never” and the urgent “I See Red”, with the latter being added to by magnificent lighting which during each chorus saw the entire stage and audience bathed in a rich red. These numbers also brilliantly showed off Tim’s natural flamboyance, charisma and showmanship. From the very beginning of the show, it was always going to be Tim’s night and he positively shone. Fittingly, after two encores the show ended with “History Never Repeats”, and there have been enough puns on this title in the papers already, so I won’t add to them now.

As someone who’s never had the opportunity to see Split Enz play before, this evening was a real treat. It was one of those shows where your mind doesn’t wander from what’s going on in front of you, and at the end of it, you feel as though only a few minutes has elapsed when it’s really been about two hours. And you have that great feeling of knowing just about all the words to every song.