A very knowledgeable and appreciative crowd of around 500 packed into the unusual setting of a restored chapel in North London to soak up the sheer talent of the brothers Finn.
As seems to be their wont at the moment they started with a highly charged "Only Talking Sense" which set the tone for the rest of the evening, Tim taking up residence as the percussion section and Neil on guitar.
A retrospective look at the play-list now suggests a very disjointed leaping from one era to another but the feeling at the time was quite the reverse, that melodies and harmonies flowed into one another without a glitch in sight. It was ace !
Next up was "Poor Boy" which Tim set about with great enthusiam, although even at this early stage there were signs that his voice wasn't going to be up to a concerted thrashing for 2 hours. Neil helped out admirably and between them they pulled it off brilliantly.
The banter was there as usual, but in smaller doses, the first real exchanges coming before "Angel's Heap", which Neil confided was concerned with Tim's seduction at the tender age of 12 by a "much older woman". ("I was very jealous", he added).
"There Goes God" got the Neil ad-lib treatment, and given our setting, it was a little bit risque to suggest that the old guy upstairs had a cellular phone and wasn't afraid to use it.
One of the highlights of the evening was "Suffer Never", which followed. The feeling at first was that Neil's guitar was sounding very pure and clean and I was hoping for the roughness of the album track. I wasn't disappointed for long because eventually Neil threw hinself into one of those shuffling, shambling guitar breaks which only he can do, shoe-gazing furiously, screwing up his face, awkwardly wigging out, and bringing the song to a crescendo with some masterful control of feedback. Superb.
Tim wasn't totally relegated to a bystander though, and sat behind the piano for "Time for a Change" and showed that the musical talent that these boys possess shows itself in many ways. Indeed, his voice was at times clean and subtle, although only in the higher registers, and in this way the brothers yet again complemented each other beautifully, with Neil being as strong as ever when Tim lacked power.
The set list was jumping from decade to decade now, and none the worse for it. >From "Where Is My Soul" (which they just about rescued from the hands of some tosser behind me who decided to clap randomly with what sounded like pantomime horse coconut shells during it) through "Four Seasons In One Day" to "What's The Matter With You" and back to "Mood Swinging Man" and "Eyes Of The World", they didn't miss a trick and made the old stuff sound fresh and the new stuff polished.
They were really mixing it up now, Neil taking a turn at the piano for "Dirty Creature", then stepping up for "It's Only Natural", although they maybe should rehearse the intro to ION sometime because they missed each other by a mile - they are human, after all. At this point they upped and left us, the fact that this was such a huge surprise ("is it that time already ?") being great testament to their abilities as entertainers.
The first encore was a very genteel affair, starting with a very pleasant version of "Kiss The Road....", continuing with a surprise (for me anyway) airing of "How Will You Go", and finishing up with "Weather With You". Neil was obviously having fun by now and was visibly surprised to see Tim marching off as the song closed. Cue another ovation (that wooden floor was great for generating some noise !) and back they came. "Last Day Of June" isn't MTMG but it was pretty damn good live. Tim threw the floor open for requests and after some incoherent yelling from the back Neil took charge of the situation and got HIS request played.
He recalled how they had lived in Watford, London through two winters (it's not that bad !)and was on the dole, although he was working - on this song, "Charlie". Tim carried it off brilliantly to please his younger brother.
The end was in sight, which brought a lump to the throat because, clliche to end all cliches, one really didn't want it to be over. They took up their now customary positions, and Neil took it upon himself to dash out a smattering of "Better Be Home Soon", and an impromptu "I See Red ". "Paradise" and a standing ovation saw the evening come to a close.
All in all, it was a fantastic evening's entertainment. Dave Dobbyn provided the support and held his own with strong songs and a powerful, clear voice. Tim Finn was a pleasant surprise, being charming, witty, accommodating and an all-round good egg. Neil Finn was simply the best.
Paul Maynard
Well the definitive review has already been posted. I agree with all of it.
I couldn't keep a set list. I was sitting transfixed on the front row - speechless except for the murmuring of my lips as I sang all the lyrics.
Highlights? In Love With It All (which I was incidentally), How Will You Go, a breathtaking Last Day of June. Lumps were brought to throats.
Only Talking Sense seems the best opener possible. It lulls the audience into just the right state of mind, unless you're the giggling girls sitting behind us who luaghed whenever Neil moved a muscle.
The twenty year span of compositions was quite thought provoking. I had never seen it like that before, my entire life span (I'm only 19) contains everything they ever wrote. When I was but a sperm on the front of a tshirt they were banging em out.
The venue really is something. It had just the right sort of reverential air for an audience who had come to worship a living God. The pulpit kept emitting smoke, and I half expected some sort of apparition to rise out of it and bazooka us all with lightning.
Where Is My Soul - I could listen to that minor-major change a million times and still be moved by it. You could feel the tension hanging in their air as it approached, and the ineffable relief when the note came out. Wonderful.
Better Be Home Soon? Well the front row shouted it out loud enough, and fired enough paper aeroplanes that missed, all requesting it. They'd already preempted us by playing our request no 1 (Its Only Natural) beforehand. Neil hurriedly discussed the matter with Tim and resolved the give us the chorus on the little guitar. It was enough.
Other highlights were sneaking upstairs at about 4pm to listen to Dave Dobbyn's soundcheck only to find we had been locked in and the other screaming multitudes thrown out of the front porch. I have never been locked in a venue before.
I met some fellow listies - Carolyn Harvey, and Angela. Neither of them scored a hit with the paper aeroplanes so expertly made by Andy Byfield, which was even more inexcusable considering front row status.
All in all, the evening I had hoped for, indeed with the front row more than I had hoped for. It is times like this I know why I spend too long sitting at this computer reading mail, why I go and spend my hard earned student grant on music by this lot, why I spend about 50 quid going to see them.
K.J. Mansell
Fantastic. Tip top quality. Fairer than fair. I could go on but I think you get the impression that I enjoyed last night's gig at The Union Chapel in Islington, London last night.
Firstly, what an excellent venue - the location is, indeed a church (have the brothers or CH played a place of worship before trivia-buffs?) and an impressive one at that. A high domed ceiling, pulpit, balcony - and a bar! The chapel really did give the gig a great atmosphere and if I had the choice of somewhere small and cosy like that as opposed to a big exhibition centre venue it'd be the former every time.
Needless to say the boys played a mixture of Finn, CH, Split Enz and (I think) Tim Finn stuff - I wasn't sure whether they'd play non-Woodface Crowded House songs (but hoped they would). Unfortunately this wasn't the case - the only non-Woodface CH serving being a very short rendition of Better Be Home Soon with Tim on one of those tiny little South Pacific island guitars, which he then went on to use for Paradise (Wherever you are) which I think was the very last set. I guess the only Woodface track that I really hoped they'd play but which they didn't was She Goes On, one of my all time fave songs. But what the hell, I'm not complaining.
And of course I'm wearing my Finn T-shirt (sperms, egg and tubes 'n' all) at work today! (the list of venues on the back doesn't include any NZ stops on the tour - are there no Finn gigs in NZ this year? Seems odd)
Hope the others that went enjoyed it (what did _you_ think of the acoustic and more 'civilised' version of Kiss The Road?)
Kris Stevens
OK - for all of you out there who want to know what the Finn shows were like - lets' just say that they were TRANSCENDENTAL (esp. 16th Nov). The shows were in an old Methodist church in Islington ("for all of you Method actors out there", according to Tim) with a capacity of about 500 people. Had to sit in pews w/ beer in hand (sacrelige that only the Finn bros could provide).
The first show was laden w/ old record industry-types, which I think that Neil seems to hate, as Neil & Tim didn't really play with the crowd very much. After the encores, Neil looked like he wanted to dart off the stage.
I don't think that the shows were musically the best I ever witnessed, but the intimacy and the venue helped make the shows the most special I've ever experienced.