Other reviews of this show:

Bic Runga performed a beautiful selection from her album Drive. She has a great voice that filled the concert hall easily. Looked a little nervous at times standing out there all by herself, but she clearly enjoyed it and was an excellent choice for the support.

Neil and the band came out dancing to the whistling music and Neil strummed along to the last few bars before launching into "Last One Standing." The crowd seemed really hyped from the word go, and I felt those familiar tingles down the spine...

Hair: together aloneish.

The band then thundered into "King Tide." Wow! Rock-and-Roll, baby! It was a big drums and bass sound. Nothing that drowned out Neil's vocals though really...

Another "Thank you, Brisbane," and then Neil offered a special welcome to Robert Moore, "A native of Brisbane" (big applause). "Lots of friends out there Robert has, all watching every move."

Neil dedicated the next song to "all the altar boys in the audience tonight (to which some guy up the back yells "Thank you!") and any nuns that happen to be here too." Yes, "Sinner."

After "Sinner," Neil ran over to the keyboards and hammered into the piano solo/bridge from "Hole in the River" for about 20 seconds. "An accidental diversion," he called it.

Next, a song dedicated to Pauline Hanson: "Not the Girl You Think You Are." Huge applause, he retracted the dedication at the end of the song adding "We all know what sort of girl she is" ("Dirty Creature" came to mind).

"Truth" -- very egyptian style keyboard intro -- cool. Again worked the not-so-impromptu "Weather With You" into the end. Might have been nice if I hadn't been expecting it.

"Tokyo" -- Similar intro to that reported by NZ listies. Great, fun song, Reminded me of the Crowdies. The crowd loved it.

The trippy intro to "Faster Than Light" really took me by surprise. Made the song sound really mysterious. Great stuff.

The crowd instantly recognised the opening bars of "Fall at Your Feet" and "Distant Sun," both done very effectively solo acoustic. Huge applause for both.

Neil then halted a "very eager" band from returning to the stage and headed to the piano. "Sorry fellas, I felt like doing another one". He then played one of the most beautiful versions of "Hole in the River" I've ever heard. If anyone asks, I'll claim I had something in my eye .

He gave the boys the thumbs up to return to the stage and introduced Liam. "I'm proud," says Neil, no doubt embarassing the poor boy.

"Try Whistling This" -- Brilliant.

Neil "And that's Michael Barker coming down the front now"
MB Picks up guitar, "Might have a shot on this"
Neil "How ya going Michael, 'ya good?"
MB "I'm rockin!"
Neil "Well... me too!"

"Souvenir."

"Private Universe" -- Good, not the best I've seen it played. Neil's guitar work at the end was excellent and it was cool to see Michael Barker playing percussion with one hand and drums with the other. I don't know, just felt like it lacked something -- actually wouldn't have minded seeing it done just acoustically solo (with "Fall at Your Feet" and "Distant Sun") for a change.

"She Will Have Her Way" -- Not bad, but they didn't really build on the album version much. Guess the take on the album is just so perfect.

They closed the first set with "Suffer Never." Excellent work but IMO the Finn Bros did it better. Missed Tim's harmony., and Neil didn't go quite as wild in the guitar solo.

"Loose Tongue" opened the first encour. Love this song. Pretty funky live. Neil fluffed the second verse though, singing the first again. Oh well, just reminding us he's human.

With the bass strapped on someone calls out for "Sister Madly" and then "Message," which Neil had a little laugh at. He fiddled about for a moment the proved he really did pay attention to Nick's work by hitting "Sister Madly" as requested. The crowd loved it, clapping along.

"Twisty Bass" next. The distorted vocal just didn't sound right from where I was sitting (certainly not like on the album). Too high pitched or something. Made Neil sound a bit like a chipmunk. A pretty rockin' chipmunk nonetheless.

"I Got You" followed (I think we all know how that one goes) to end the first encore. Incidently, I managed to nab Neil's set list after the show and "Spirit of the Stairs" was written in between "Twisty Bass" and "I Got You" but had been crossed out.

The biggest applause of the night came as Neil began "Don't Dream It's Over." Wow! He made sure everyone got in on the act at the end.

He finished up with "Astro" and "Addicted," both superbly performed.

All in all I thought it was a fantastic show, right up there with Crowded House and the Brothers Finn live.