6 May 1993, Good Morning America, Auckland, New Zealand

Set List

  1. Distant Sun
  2. Parihaka

Reports by Andrew Ennals (PENNALS@macc1.mta.ca and Marck Bailey (marck@nwu.edu)

Andrew Ennals (Canada):
Just caught Crowded House on Good Morning America singing "Distant Sun"...very good performance. My first glimpse of Mark Hart, and he was definitely very shy. Nick and Paul goofed off (Paul claimed HE was Neil Finn) and later on in the show Tim and Neil performed "Parihaka". This version was obviously shortened, as was "Distant Sun"--I found the lyrics Catrin had posted a long time ago, and they had definitely been changed.

My only problems where with the sound quality-On "Distant Sun" the instruments were too quiet, and with "Parihaka" the guitars were a bit overpowering. Tim's voice in "Parihaka" sounded strained...he was also listed as being in Crowded House.

All in all, they were the highlight of the show. I wasn't too impressed with the hosts--they seemed a bit patronizing towards New Zealand ("They drive on the wrong side of the road; they have Christmas at the wrong time of year"), but TV shows do have a tendency to do that when they visit another country. It all kinda reminded me of last year's World Series...but a good show nonetheless.

They mentioned the album as being called "Kiri Kiri" or something like that--but nothing new about when it'll be out.

Marck Bailey (Evanston, IL, USA):
apparently, the song is called "Dust from a Distant Sun" (although Joan Lunden, interviewess extraordinaire, managed to blow even that, calling it "Just from a Distant Sun").

>... very good performance. My first glimpse of Mark Hart, and he was
>definitely very shy.

Nick has referred to Mark as the "Barkless Basenji (sp?)" of Crowded House -- a reference to those bizarre dogs that came from Egypt which can't bark. i've only heard Mark get really vocal on stage once.

nonetheless, we did get *one* piece of info about Mark: although he lives in L.A. now, he's originally from Kansas. (i imagine he wakes up every morning in NZ chanting, "Toto, i don't think we're in ...")

>This version was obviously shortened, as was "Distant Sun" ...

"Distant Sun" was not shortened too much for an acoustic performance. it was clear that for the version they performed on GMA, they skipped right over the instrumental or solo section, and this is not uncommon on live television performances when you're short on time. i'm sure they were told ahead of time, "you have minutes, so shorten as necessary."

>I found the lyrics Catrin had posted a long time ago, and they had definitely
>been changed.

i'm sure they had developed during the recording of the album, but also: i have a copy of the recording of that song from which Catrin took the lyrics, and i don't know *how* she got as much of it as she did. anyway, now we have complete, full lyrics -- not to mention an acoustic guitar version, which means we guitarists can *learn* the song!

>My only problems where with the sound quality-On "Distant Sun" the
>instruments were too quiet ...

so quiet, in fact, that you couldn't hear any of the acoustic "lead" that Mark was playing.

>...he was also listed as being in Crowded House.

god, shall we count the mistakes? Joan also referred to the band as "The Crowded House." i loved it when she said, "now we're gonna ROCK 'N ROLL." puhleeeeze.

>[the hosts] they seemed a bit patronizing towards New Zealand ("They drive
>on the wrong side of the road; they have Christmas at the wrong time of year"),
>but TV shows do have a tendency to do that when they visit another country.

oh, but why stop there? GMA and their ilk do this *all* the time. i was reminded why i don't turn on the TV in the mornings. it might have been a bit frustrating to not hear more of an interview with the band, but i really think that Neil et al. were spared the embarrassment of having to talk with the hostess for too long.

>They mentioned the album as being called "Kiri Kiri" or something like
>that ...

i heard "Kari Kari." i'm posting to soc.culture.nz this morning to try to get a correct spelling on the name -- it's clearly a Maori term.

>... but nothing new about when it'll be out.

she reiterated September as the release date. she also said that the album was *finished*. my guess is that the break here is so that the band can have a little time with their families before they head back on the road for a year or more, and also so Neil can complete his move from Melbourne back to Australia.

other thoughts: Neil looked great -- he's let his hair grow out, and he looks well-rested and in control ... while we're on looks, Mark has cut his hair a little bit shorter and, if he doesn't speak (which he doesn't), he looks just like a member of the band. *grin* ... it's clear that Neil is still really into the indigenous inspiration thing: Joan asked him if the band is inspired by American or British music, and Neil insisted that his main inspiration is from New Zealand. i guess i can understand his fear to dredge up another Beatles reference; he got very tired of that while promoting the debut album.


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