by Shane Fearnley

Well folks, Neil played last night in Auckland and he just rocked the house down.

Anyway won't go into too much detail since we already have the previous reviews from Wellington and Christchurch, the song set was very much the same. I'm sure JP will have a better review to send in but I'll try for now!

The highlights:

During Neil's solo on the keyboard with "Message to My Girl," the keyboard gave in so Neil came up to the front of the stage and sang the rest of the song alone and believe me this, He was just amazing and the crowd went crazy. That man is a GOD!

Another highlight was during his song "Don't Dream It's Over," which the audience sang with him, and honest to god it was almost in perfect harmony. Absolutely beautiful! Really touching and especially considering the venue, which is a real old theatre and has been restored with it's old boxes and all the gilt and stained glass all over. The atmosphere was electric. The guys in the band were really tight and really clicked with Neil. Liam played awesomely, and he did seem shy, but what the hell, I would be as nervous as hell too!

Neil really clicked with the audience, joking along with us and making us feel a part of it all. He had his customary cup of tea and threw in his good-hearted jibe at the support guys. And by the sounds of the audience, they all loved him too! At the end, everybody gave Neil a standing ovation and he actually looked really touched by it. And of course the lighting was just out of it with the mood being set for each song. A lot went into the lights and they were the perfect backdrop! A big plus bonus for the lighting guy!!

Oh yeah, and if you go to the concert make sure ya say a big "HI" to Peter Green [club president]. He's doing a great job on the merchandising stuff which there are some really cool tees and stuff. Make sure you bring some extra cash, folks!

In New Zealand's major daily paper today, there's a great colour photo of Neil in concert on the front page and then the review gives a real good account and support of Neil as well.

Anyway I just wanted to say that I had a great time at Neil's concert last night. The man is truly a GOD! Plus I want to tell any listies out there who are planning to meet up before one of Neil's concert or are thinking about it: DO IT cause these listies, being us, are great people and you're guaranteed to have a great time meeting each other and talking about anything that goes!