Contrary to some reports in the media, the Finn Brothers proceeded with their concert tour here in London, following the death of former band member of Crowded House, Paul Hester on the weekend, in Melbourne.
Natalie and I were lucky to attend the Tuesday night concert. The concert was a tribute to the memory of their friend and the brothers informed the audience that they were enjoying the performances. I got the feeling that it was a welcome distraction from the media circus surrounding the event.
A couple of songs were particularly devoted to the memory of Paul or hispartner, Mardi and their children. There were some moving moments.
But it was not a night of solemn reflection for that is not what the audience came to see. Instead, we had essentially two hours of the Finn Brothers greatest hits spanning their careers from Split Ends (what they were known as originally in NZ before becoming Split Enz when they moved to Australia), through to Crowded House and the solo careers.
The brothers launched themselves around stage, defying their age (Neil is 46 and Tim is 52).
The finale was "It's Only Natural". But the audience was not going to let them go after only an hour and half, not when Nick Seymour, the third member of Crowded House had appeared on stage for the last 15 minutes.
The Finn Brothers are true entertainers and involved the audience in their performance, especially in the encore when the vibe noticeably picked up as the audience stood in their seats or rushed the front of the stage. The audience was encouraged to help with the singing of "Better be Home Soon" and the final and poignant "Weather with You".
A great gig. I wont be forgetting it anytime soon.
Incidently, the warm up artist was Bic Runga, a NZ native who has moved to London in the past year. Bic had a hit with "Sway" in 1997. Appearing unaccompanied, her music was appreciated by the audience which appeared to be mainly comprised of Aussies and Kiwis.
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