Crowded House, March 2007 Webcast
In the middle ages of the web, Neil Finn hosted a webcast from his studio somewhere in Auckland. Avril and I watched, emailed and listened to Neil do our request and song online. This was in stark contrast to the very personal concert to the massive 1996 Farewell to the World show only 5 years earlier.
This morning, the reformed Crowded House webcast from Peter Gabriel’s UK studios (yes, that Peter Gabriel). Evidently, Peter was serving canapes and red wine outside the studio for the attendees.
Sometimes music is like sausages; you love the end result but never want to see what goes into the making. Watching Crowded House in these early stages of formation where it was a little loose could have put off an unsuspecting watcher.
Generally, people who write poetry or music when younger lose their edge when older. Life has stabilised, and there is little occuring that tugs the emotion strings of the lyricist. Neil and the band have had the tragic death of Paul Hester to deal with; and this flows through the new songs. From what I heard, the chord progressions are typically obtuse Neil but strangely the lyrics have a directness, not heard in recent Finn works.
The vibe was relaxed, the band feels like a bunch of old friends getting together. I hope this reformation is a cathartic experience for all; and the demons can be exorcised.