8 times! 8 times I’ve tried to catch Neil Finn live in concert and finally succeeded. Neil Finn has got to have one of the most amazing lyrical voices in the music industry. Guy’s almost 50 but still retains his boyish voice and charm. That was a great show, some old standards, some new! And I got to stand a mere 5 feet away from Neil … swoooon!
A nice, small environment at the House of Blues, close to the action, great songs, and a very respectful crowd, as KJW said. They started with songs from Finn, their first brother-act album and then went into a few from Woodface and the later Enz albums, all sprinkled with material from their latest album, which I pre-ordered and will be out August 28. Not a whisper from Temple of Low Men – boo. Through it all, Tim either played keyboards or flailed about with a tambourine like a flamingo with balance issues – that was funny. They closed with Four Seasons in One Day, which made me feel very melancholy for a while after.
Did I tell you I got to stand 5 feet away from Neil for one song, before the speakers got too loud for my old ears?! He’s not very tall, though, and his hair gives him the added height.
LAB replies to my review: “He is only 45! Isn’t his voice beautiful? It’s too bad you couldn’t have seen him solo, or with Crowded House. He rocked out a lot more then. Hopefully he will release another solo album sometime soon, and then we will get another solo tour! I would have loved to hear Four Seasons, such a beautiful song. The song list will be posted on the frenz of the enz site.
“Do you have 7 Worlds Collide, the live CD? It’s really good. Johnny Marr is all over it and what’s his bucket from the Smiths sings “There is a light that never goes out,” which I always thought was the funniest song. That’s my weird sense of humor for you! (Morrisey … blanked out for a minute). “
I have to liven up my Enz/Crowdies/NeilFinn CD collection. Lessee:
Best Crowded House: Temple of Low Men, Woodface, and Together Alone. Their first (Crowded House) is just OK
Best Neil: The new (er) Neil Finn – One All, is again just OK. I love Try Whistling This. One All has too much basement stuff (see below).
Best Enz: Coroboree or True Colors-the Greatest Hits CD
Best Finn Brothers: None? Don’t really like ’em. Sounds too much like they were written and recorded in the family basement. (Probably true.) But I have them anyway.
One Nil: So-so. It’s called One All in the the States because (I guess) Americans are idiots and don’t understand what “Nil” means. There are some good songs on it, but nothing as good as Sinner or King Tide from the first solo CD. It’s much more mellow.
You should get Together Alone, the last Crowded House CD. Nails in My Feet is a great song that didn’t make it on Recurring Dreams.
Here’s an interesting website I came across with CH record reviews. This guy certainly has a love/hate relationship with CH. Note especially the Lord of the Rings paragraph.
