I close my eyes halfway through one of Neil Finn’s good-humoured stretches of crowd banter and can almost swear Rhys Darby was the new lead for Crowded House.
The fearless frontman has always charmed with his relatable sense of humour, often quipping with his brother Liam between the band’s many classics. But something about these pop-up shows has Crowded House seeming even lighter than usual. Finn is hilarious.
They all are, actually. Cracking jokes constantly while clearly having fun at the first of two special pop-up shows at the Sydney State Theatre. Neil smiles as he comments on the sound halfway through the band’s hits-and-other-bits set.
“It was bouncing back at us during rehearsals, but now you’re all just soaking it up.”
“Like a succulent 48-hour slow-cooked lamb shoulder,” adds Liam.
“Is this the first time you’ve been compared to a lamb shoulder?” Neil asks the crowd. We chuckle. We end up chuckling a lot through the night, charmed into a sense of intimacy despite the sold-out theatre’s 2,000+ capacity being tested by Sydney’s most adoring Crowded House fans.
Tickets weren’t cheap to see the band play at State Theatre, which is surprising for a band that is out here almost every year. And yet, a show like this doesn’t come around very often. Most people have seen Crowded House at least three times already, so there had to be something special to lure us back in.
It is special. Not just because of State Theatre’s magnificence and classical bent, but because such a loose format allows one of the most seasoned bands to shake off any pretences or expectations and just be musicians for the sake of it.
“We don’t know what the fuck we’re doing, but it’s a nice, free place to be,” said Neil as he renamed the band Strangely Hot. “We’re the support band,” he claims before strumming through a beautiful over of “Silent House” by The Chicks (or “The Chucks,” according to Liam).
The irrepresible energy of improve is rarely seen in Sydney, at least not on this level. You’d have to go to big, boistrous cities like New York City and Tokyo to see top-shelf artists play it by ear. Crowded House – sorry, Strangely Hot – weren’t exactly playing it by ear for the first half of this special set, but it still gave the sporadic energy of a freestyle.
For the audience, it was like peeking in on a jam sessions between these legendary musicians. And that alone is worth the price of admission.
And yet Crowded House aren’t content without going full-mode. After a quick set (and costume) change, the boys switched from acoustic to electric, going bigger, louder and more exciting with hit after hit. “Fall at Your Feet” was the first fan-favourite to pop up, dispersed amongst deeper cuts that we rarely get to hear live like “Not The Girl That You Think You Are” and “Black and White Boy”.
State Theatre have a policy against standing and dancing up front of the stage, but Finn wasn’t one for rules that night. He invited the entire crowd to come have a dance at the front of the stage and the majority of stall-seaters were more than happy to oblige once the rhythm of “Distant Sun” let loose.
Yet it was the playful “Chocolate Cake” that really picked the energy up in the room, the slightly tongue-in-cheek, kid-friendly jam turned into a rock n roll epic with 67-year-old Neil jumping around the stage and flailing his arms, putting Mick Jagger to shame. I highly doubt I’ll have that much energy at that age.
Funny, charming, still as talented as ever, and generous with their time. This is the Crowded House we’ll never get sick of. I wouldn’t be surprised if people from the first night ponied up for the cheap seats on the second.
FIVE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The writer attended Crowded House at the State Theatre on Wednesday, 22nd October.
