October 9, 2024 – Crowded House at Glasgow Ovo Hydro
You know those people who say Neil Finn is one of the greatest songwriters of our time? Those people are right. I’m one of those people. Still, I wasn’t expecting much from Crowded House at Glasgow Ovo Hydro. How could an arena show compare to the magnificence of seeing them – for the very first time – at The Roundhouse? That was a venue much smaller than you could reasonably expect to see a band of this heritage and calibre (not now, people who recently saw them at The Cavern, not now!)
It wasn’t just the scale though. As a music photographer, watching a concert without a photo pass is painful. When it’s a bucket list band to shoot, it’s close to unbearable. Not seeing anyone else in the pit didn’t make me feel better, just more concerned that the night might not be adequately documented. So I endeavoured to do the best I could.
Somehow, up on level 2, I excelled myself. The superzoom compact camera I invested in proved a passable substitute for my trusty SLR. I also captured all the key banter and improvised lyrics verbatim, along with countless subtle observations and nuanced gestures. Then, with one unnoticed careless gesture of my own, accidentally deleted those notes. When all conceivable retrieval options failed, I had no choice but to rely on my memory. The same memory that forgot to take a notebook and pen! Here goes nothing…
For a venue that can hold over 14,000 people, the opening was surprisingly intimate. A lone figure in a long coat marched out slowly, carefully opened an instrument case, and struck up a plaintive symphony. It was reminiscent of a street musician enchanting a European town square on a crisp, starry night. Meanwhile, the rest of the band quietly took their places, carrying lanterns. Fade to black.
Then, suddenly, shock and awe as the scene exploded into light and sound as the band surprised the crowd with Weather With You. That’s the kind of song most bands would make a deal at the crossroads to have in their roster. The kind of song that would close out their live sets forevermore. Yet Crowded House have so many of those kind of songs to spare that this hit could be played *first*, offering up a good-natured jump scare and a sonic shot across the bow.
After all, ‘you know more Crowded House songs than you think you do’ wasn’t just a clever advertising tagline; it was a statement of fact. Going some way to explaining why Neil Finn is so highly rated as a songwriter, especially amongst other musicians (and this music reviewer).
Case in point: hit singles Fall At Your Feet and Don’t Dream It’s Over were powered through within the first seven songs too.
That would be the Stevie Nicks approved ‘once in a lifetime’ song Don’t Dream It’s Over. Finn once delightfully commented in an interview: “She actually started off saying once in a million years. I had to remind her that would include Mozart and The Beatles and Boyz II Men.” True, but she was still right the first time – and they didn’t need to save that song for the encore either!
Finn was in fine fettle, and not just because of his fabulous haircut. He was on top form vocally too, sounding better than all the live concerts and DVD extras sessions footage spanning four decades that we watched in the weeks leading up to the show. Dare I say he even outperformed some album vocal takes!
As if writing and singing myriad era-defining hit songs and being a good enough guitarist to take Lindsey Buckingham’s vacated position for over 80 Fleetwood Mac tour dates weren’t enough, Neil Finn’s is also a great pianist. The three piano songs that keystoned the set were truly lovely.
To recap, Neil Finn’s three weapons are singing, songwriting, guitar playing, and…his four weapons…amongst his weaponry are such diverse elements as: singing, songwriting, guitar playing, piano playing, and improvisation. Hence why we were treated to a little ditty about the strong men who carried the piano on and off the stage and about a technical problem with said piano, just to keep the entertainment flowing without a moment’s downtime.
You’d think it would be hard to persevere as a musician when your dad’s not only been in a couple of the biggest bands of an entire geographic region (we’re not getting into the ‘is it an Australian or New Zealand band’ debate here!) but is also, just to stress this once again, good enough to have toured as part of actual Fleetwood Mac.
It doesn’t seem to have fazed Liam Finn though, judging from this performance. He singlehandedly entertained the arena crowd as the opening act, leaving to the memorable spectacle of thrashing the drums to accompany himself by means of loop pedal. His proud father later joked about this “crazy drum shit.”
He took the limelight again for one of the newest tracks of the set, The Howl, from Crowded House’s latest album Gravity Stairs. I knew Liam had written the song (including the excellent lyric ” I don’t want to be alone/but I could never love again”), but I wasn’t aware until this performance that he sings it too. That’s how similar his voice is to his father’s.
He’s inherited his dad’s guitar skill too, or at least the work ethic to learn. Probably both. Liam was incredibly comfortable and proficient performing guitar parts that Neil pioneered on record and live. Seeing him whirling around and rocking out to When You Come was a real joy. At least it was before remembering what the song is about, leading to the alarming thought: ‘Is that about his mum?’ Perhaps best not to think about that.
The same could be said for the impressive drummer, Neil’s other son, Elroy Finn. Together, the Finn boys kept up with their dad’s quick-witted verbal and musical improvs.
Liam kept the crowd laughing with frequent ‘armadillo’ yells between and within songs, referencing the distinctively shaped building next door; leading him to sing a few bars of the Neighbours theme tune for good measure!
Finns haven’t completely taken over though. Founding member, bassist Nick Seymour, was irrepressible as ever. Four decades on and he’s still skipping and marching across the stage even with a knee injury – picked up while dancing, unsurprisingly!
Rounding out the main band was Mitchell Froom, who produced and played on the first three Crowded House albums. He was a calm presence, surrounded by instruments and technology while studiously building up the textures. [Editor’s note: Music Closeup’s resident producer-nerd is currently waxing lyrical about him while watching Crowded House live in London, so it’s safe to say Froom’s presence was and is indeed significant.]
Extra performers – including Elias Dendias on the bouzouki and guitarist Tryfon Baitsis – rotated in and out as the songs required.
A momentary delay in the auxiliaries returning to place (in an otherwise impeccably flowing set) created an opportunity for Neil to slip in an extra song. A front row fan who had been calling for There Goes God all night – referenced in earlier in jocular banter about the concept of God being spotted in Glasgow – was rewarded with a short version. A memorable one too; Neil substituted the lyrics: “Wouldn’t you know it/I’ve forgotten half the words/but if you know me, why don’t you tell me what I’m thinking?” without anyone missing a beat.
Together, the band delivered live versions that were particularly punchy and vibrant. The renditions seemed adapted for maximum impact and to fit as many of the classics in as possible, alongside a handful of new tracks and deep cuts.
The excellent sound mix (surprisingly so, for an arena) and consummate musicianship served the new tracks well. Somehow, the lyrics stood out more than on record. Some Greater Plan (For Claire) sounded particularly sweet and poignant. It was imbued with extra significance when Neil explained that he and his brother Tim Finn (of Split Enz and Crowdies fame) were inspired to write it after reading their father’s diaries about a two week affair with a diplomat’s daughter in Florence during World War Two.
Behind and above the band, the staging was simple but effective. A curious art piece combined with lighting design were used to great effect.
Crowd control
I’ll always remember my first, twice postponed, Crowded House show for the personal and collective catharsis it provided after the uncertainty and isolation of the pandemic. We inhabited those singalongs. We needed them.
Yet despite all the engaging improvisations and local knowledge that the band displayed here – the name of the local river, the local newspaper, the local architecture (ARMADILLO), and memories (albeit hazy) of past local shows – the Hydro crowd was more than double the size of the Roundhouse but much quieter.
It seemed particularly strange because Glasgow is known for its boisterous audiences. It’s often said that a Tuesday show in Glasgow is like a Saturday night anywhere else. Even the Irn Bru ads in the arena’s foyer extolled the sound of a Glaswegian crowd.
“You don’t have to shush now”
It turned out this night’s audience was just being polite while listening to those world-class songs; they were ready and willing to sing when asked. Spatial architecture may have played its part too, since it was floor seating. However, once the band encouraged a bit of dancing, a fair few of those down the front happily obliged.
Nonetheless, it took the Finn boys asking if the fans in the higher tiers were OK and an improvised song to encourage a bit more liveliness and the phone torches to be switched on: “People up the top/Fireflies/One day they’ll be down the front/Fireflies/But not if security can help it/Fireflies and armadillos all day!”
Even then the lanterns from the opening scene had to be used to prompt those torches to be relit for the final song. I assumed it was obvious what was coming and that torchlight and loud harmonies would clearly be mandatory.
Perhaps that’s because I’ve got another confession to make about my Crowdies-based luckiness. I once saw I saw a young lad called Liam Finn supporting Pearl Jam in Christchurch. And his dad, a fella named Neil Finn, popped up for a couple of songs with him and with Eddie Vedder. 15 years and hundreds of concerts later, I’ve still never heard or witnessed anything as electric and transformative as a stadium full of New Zealanders singing Better Be Home Soon at another band’s show!
After all, despite all the hits in Crowded House’s arsenal – an embarrassment of obvious closers for any lesser band – Better Be Home Soon really is the perfect closer for a show like this. Better be back soon too! I’ve got a photo pass bucket list to fulfill, remember!
Crowded House at Glasgow Ovo Hydro setlist
- Weather With You
- Teenager Summer
- World Where You Live
- Fall At Your Feet
- To The Island
- Whispers and Moans
- Don’t Dream It’s Over
- ‘Strong men/something wrong with my piano’ improvisation
- Either Side of The World
- Black Water, White Circle
- Message To My Girl (Split Enz cover)
- Oh Hi
- When You Come
- Private Universe
- There Goes God
- Four Seasons In One Day
- Sister Madly
- The Howl
- Something So Strong
- Locked Out
- It’s Only Natural
Encore - Distant Sun
- ‘People Up The Top (Tireflies)’ improvisation
- Some Greater Plan (For Claire)
- Better Be Home Soon
With heartfelt thanks to Setlist.fm contributors
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