It's The Only Music I Know, Neil
Crowded House
Ryman Auditorium
Nashville
September 11, 2007
The first thing I have to do before I launch into my adulatory rant is heartily thank the lovely jfox for encouraging me to make the trip to go and see Crowded House perform in Nashville. The day spent in this buzzing city was quite literally a whirlwind, but worth every second. And to see the band I love so much, in a setting like the historic Ryman Auditorium, is one privilege I won’t ever forget. After all, the fact that they were playing at the Ryman was the main reason I even contemplated making the trip over. Heart of Gold, the documentary on Neil Young was shot here, and had a profound effect on me when I first saw it. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, even if you’re not a fan of his style(s) of music, the way the film is so lovingly shot will make you do nothing but admire him, his great talent and humility. On Tuesday night, sitting in the pews of this former church (thanks to the two lovely couples sitting near me for filling me in!), I couldn’t help but think back to watching the doco, which incidentally does give the illusion that the Ryman is an enormous and austere venue – once you’re in there though, it feels a little like Melbourne’s Athaeneum – small and intimate, with excellent acoustics (note the big red tour truck at the far left of the photo!).
The first time I saw Liam Finn was back in 1998 where, at 15, he was helping out dad, Neil, on his first solo tour, playing drums and guitar. I remember reading an article about Liam at the time where apparently his careers advisor had warned him against going into music as a career because “there’s no money in it”. Nearly 10 years later, he still isn’t listening. On his own, switching between guitar, bass and drums, with the aid of one of those nifty loop pedals, Liam proved to be a memorable opener. Generally, whoever opens for the main act tends to go in one ear and out the other for me, but with his expressive voice, technical brilliance, and knack for coming up with catchy melodies, he gets your attention whether you like it or not.
If you’ve ever been in a situation where you can’t wipe the smile off your face or if you’re having your own private chuckle to yourself, then that’s probably the best way to describe the sensation of the two or so hours that Crowded House were on stage. The natural chemistry and rapport are still there, particularly between Neil Finn and Nick Seymour, regularly trading barbs and effortlessly sharing quips with the crowd. It was also great to see Neil and Liam on the same stage again – at one point, someone threw a pink feather boa up on the stage. Nick wore it for a bit then passed it on to Liam, with Neil commenting, “You should dye your beard pink too.” Personalities aside though, it’s still the music that remains the main focus and speaks the loudest to us smitten fans. Among the best moments for me were “Recurring Dream”, which is a bit of a rarity, and I guess was made all the more special since it opened the show and as the lights went up on the band, it made me realise just how good it is to have them back.
The set itself was pretty evenly split between new and old material, with the warmest receptions saved for tunes like the buoyant “Weather With You” (I don’t dance, but for this, I can make an exception), “Mean To Me”, “Distant Sun” and “Fall At Your Feet.” To my mind though, the most powerful moments came during the second encore. Following the tense “Fingers of Love,” Neil declared that they’d attempt “a song we’ve only played about three times before”. Hearing the beautiful “Kare Kare”, which opens Together Alone, sent me right back to 1994 when I saw them for the very first time – and it was this very song that they started the show with then. On his own, Neil also went through a verse of Neil Young’s fragile "After The Gold Rush" – as he described it, a “half-arsed attempt to pay a tribute to the man”. As a fan of both, I figured at this point that I could now die happy.
And yes, I am a nerd - this is the set list, scribbled down in between songs:
Recurring Dream
Private Universe
Say That Again
English Trees
Fall At Your Feet
Don’t Stop Now
Distant Sun
Heaven That I’m Making
“Forget That You’re In Nashville”
You Are The One To Make Me Cry
Don’t Dream It’s Over
“Dream, Dream, Dream”
Pineapple Head
Silent House
When You Come
Something So Strong
---------
Weather With You
Mean To Me
World Where You Live
---------
Fingers Of Love
Kare Kare
“After The Gold Rush”
Four Seasons In One Day
Ryman Auditorium
Nashville
September 11, 2007
The first thing I have to do before I launch into my adulatory rant is heartily thank the lovely jfox for encouraging me to make the trip to go and see Crowded House perform in Nashville. The day spent in this buzzing city was quite literally a whirlwind, but worth every second. And to see the band I love so much, in a setting like the historic Ryman Auditorium, is one privilege I won’t ever forget. After all, the fact that they were playing at the Ryman was the main reason I even contemplated making the trip over. Heart of Gold, the documentary on Neil Young was shot here, and had a profound effect on me when I first saw it. For anyone who hasn’t seen it, even if you’re not a fan of his style(s) of music, the way the film is so lovingly shot will make you do nothing but admire him, his great talent and humility. On Tuesday night, sitting in the pews of this former church (thanks to the two lovely couples sitting near me for filling me in!), I couldn’t help but think back to watching the doco, which incidentally does give the illusion that the Ryman is an enormous and austere venue – once you’re in there though, it feels a little like Melbourne’s Athaeneum – small and intimate, with excellent acoustics (note the big red tour truck at the far left of the photo!).
The first time I saw Liam Finn was back in 1998 where, at 15, he was helping out dad, Neil, on his first solo tour, playing drums and guitar. I remember reading an article about Liam at the time where apparently his careers advisor had warned him against going into music as a career because “there’s no money in it”. Nearly 10 years later, he still isn’t listening. On his own, switching between guitar, bass and drums, with the aid of one of those nifty loop pedals, Liam proved to be a memorable opener. Generally, whoever opens for the main act tends to go in one ear and out the other for me, but with his expressive voice, technical brilliance, and knack for coming up with catchy melodies, he gets your attention whether you like it or not.
If you’ve ever been in a situation where you can’t wipe the smile off your face or if you’re having your own private chuckle to yourself, then that’s probably the best way to describe the sensation of the two or so hours that Crowded House were on stage. The natural chemistry and rapport are still there, particularly between Neil Finn and Nick Seymour, regularly trading barbs and effortlessly sharing quips with the crowd. It was also great to see Neil and Liam on the same stage again – at one point, someone threw a pink feather boa up on the stage. Nick wore it for a bit then passed it on to Liam, with Neil commenting, “You should dye your beard pink too.” Personalities aside though, it’s still the music that remains the main focus and speaks the loudest to us smitten fans. Among the best moments for me were “Recurring Dream”, which is a bit of a rarity, and I guess was made all the more special since it opened the show and as the lights went up on the band, it made me realise just how good it is to have them back.
The set itself was pretty evenly split between new and old material, with the warmest receptions saved for tunes like the buoyant “Weather With You” (I don’t dance, but for this, I can make an exception), “Mean To Me”, “Distant Sun” and “Fall At Your Feet.” To my mind though, the most powerful moments came during the second encore. Following the tense “Fingers of Love,” Neil declared that they’d attempt “a song we’ve only played about three times before”. Hearing the beautiful “Kare Kare”, which opens Together Alone, sent me right back to 1994 when I saw them for the very first time – and it was this very song that they started the show with then. On his own, Neil also went through a verse of Neil Young’s fragile "After The Gold Rush" – as he described it, a “half-arsed attempt to pay a tribute to the man”. As a fan of both, I figured at this point that I could now die happy.
And yes, I am a nerd - this is the set list, scribbled down in between songs:
Recurring Dream
Private Universe
Say That Again
English Trees
Fall At Your Feet
Don’t Stop Now
Distant Sun
Heaven That I’m Making
“Forget That You’re In Nashville”
You Are The One To Make Me Cry
Don’t Dream It’s Over
“Dream, Dream, Dream”
Pineapple Head
Silent House
When You Come
Something So Strong
---------
Weather With You
Mean To Me
World Where You Live
---------
Fingers Of Love
Kare Kare
“After The Gold Rush”
Four Seasons In One Day
posted by yossarian | 10:53 AM
2 Comments:
love all your crowdies/nasville/tabernacle posts yoss! really enjoyed reading your wonderful stories and vicariously experiencing nashville; so glad that you had a fantastic time! i like the (nerdy) set lists... love that they ended with a song about melbourne too :D
[right-o, let's get this skype thing sorted, i want to hear more about these gigs!]
i totally know the feeling of having a smile on your face the whole time. That was exactly how i felt at live earth...i was so aware that i was in the presence of greatness.
I love this blog! it kept ME smiling the whole read. I love 'Mean to Me', i cant express why and it was my only disappointment when i saw them...that they didnt play it!
Post a Comment
<< Home