Finn Brothers
Jun. 13th, 2005 12:54 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
woodfaceYaay! The concert was amazing, even Kurt thinks so. I had a wonderful evening, great music and good company.
We got in Brussels early, parked right in front of the concert hall and then went to eat. By the time we got back, people were already starting to line up. One woman had come down from Colorado (for the second time) to see the concert and follow the Finns for six concerts.
We managed to get hold of some nice seats with a decent view. The support band was "Lester Osbourne", of course I was slow and didn't realise Liam was actually... Liam. I did think it was funny the kid was named Liam too and started to frown and wonder if he really said his brother's name was Elroy. Heh, but then later Neil invited them on stage to play with them and I hit myself on the head for not realising this sooner. Back to Lester Osbourne. They're pretty good, a promising sound that reminds me somewhat of Coldplay and The Unbelievable Truth. Of course, it was kinda funny when lunatic n°1 shouted at Liam that "we love the Finns". Liam frowned and replied "so do I". Heh.
Anyway, the concert itself was good. They played a pretty ranged repertoire going from Split Enz to Crowded House and the Finn Brothers songs. I've never been a huge fan of Split Enz, but the hits are always fun to hear. It are the Crowded House songs who stand out the most though. Maybe because the crowd knows them the best, or maybe because these were some of the best songs the Finns ever wrote down.
Hrm, I'm just going to go over the highlights for me now before it all fades into a blur. Angel's Heap was just amazing. I love this song so much, just gorgeous. This was another amazing version. Last Day of June was played at the request of the audience and just... damn, I adore this song so much. Same with Edible Flowers.
I think something in the concert changed for me when they started playing "There goes god". It was the first Crowded House song they played and for the first time, it really sunk into me that Paul Hester would never be playing with them again. Maybe everyone felt that, because after the song ended, Neil stepped forward and dedicated the next song to Paul (which then quickly got dedicated to all Pauls out there). They played a haunting version of "It's Only Natural", which gave the entire song a complete different meaning and kinda made me want to cry. Later on in the concert, Neil stepped up again and suggested that the entire hall would sing a song with him, just like Paul liked to do it. He then softly started to sing "Four seasons in one day" and everyone sang with him. Gorgeous how he holds the audience entirely on his hands and can get them to do pretty much anything. I love "Four seasons in one day", it's possibly one of the most beautiful Crowded House version ever and that version there sung so imperfectly might be the perfect one. Neil seemed pretty happy with it too.
Of course, Weather with you kicked ass as well and had everyone going with them again. And Neil pulls it of for the so manieth time to get everyone to join in and sing along. (Although the most impossible moment was on his Try Whistling This tour where he divided the audience in two and taught us to imitate the drums and the guitar and then made us sing while he started to sing the lyrics. Which worked. Neil was as stunned as us as he explained it never before actually did work.)
Naturally, the Finn humour was present throughout the entire show. It started with mumbling about how Neil woke up their father at 5am the other night because he had forgotten the time difference. Something Neil occasionally does, but it's alright because he's 82 and in good health and the trick to that is an egg in the morning and whiskey in the evening. They had a bit of bad luck with this show as their equipment kept failing (the sound wasn't actually all that good at first, but it did get a bit better). Someone shouted to Neil and did this really long explanation and although everyone was quiet, Neil just couldn't understand. He then went on about "what are you waffling about?" Then Tim and Neil degraded into a discussion about how "waffling" is an internation word everyone understands. Finally someone explained that said person had actually asked for "Last Day of June" and Neil - in totally admiration for said person's listening skills - promplty played the song.
Tim at a sudden point in between the songs, apologised to the roadie for calling him a "hideous person" the other day. Neil pointed out that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to do this sort of apology in public and on stage as it still implied there was a reason that he called John a "hideous person". Tim agreed that perhaps saying he called John a hideous person in public and apologising might not be that good, and he'd apologise again later on backstage. He even offered to kiss John.
It was sad to part with them again, but they played two hours straight which is really good. Afterwards we ran into Se and her boyfriend. I hadn't seen her in ages so it was really good. Especially at a Finn concert. *g*
Kurt and I went to have another drink in Brussels and we then managed to find our way back without any problems whatsover. Yaay!
So to round this post off. The concert was great. Sadly enough, the sound wasn't 100%. Hated that it seemed to go a bit at the cost of Neil's voice, but they did sort it out a bit. I think I do like Neil Finn concerts better than Finn Brothers. I just never got into Split Enz that much, and I think Neil just has a better repertoire to dig from. Sorry, I'm just not big on Tim. Notice how my eyes were constantly on Neil the whole frakking time? Still, it was a great concert. I wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world. In a way, I think it also was a goodbye to Paul Hester.
We got in Brussels early, parked right in front of the concert hall and then went to eat. By the time we got back, people were already starting to line up. One woman had come down from Colorado (for the second time) to see the concert and follow the Finns for six concerts.
We managed to get hold of some nice seats with a decent view. The support band was "Lester Osbourne", of course I was slow and didn't realise Liam was actually... Liam. I did think it was funny the kid was named Liam too and started to frown and wonder if he really said his brother's name was Elroy. Heh, but then later Neil invited them on stage to play with them and I hit myself on the head for not realising this sooner. Back to Lester Osbourne. They're pretty good, a promising sound that reminds me somewhat of Coldplay and The Unbelievable Truth. Of course, it was kinda funny when lunatic n°1 shouted at Liam that "we love the Finns". Liam frowned and replied "so do I". Heh.
Anyway, the concert itself was good. They played a pretty ranged repertoire going from Split Enz to Crowded House and the Finn Brothers songs. I've never been a huge fan of Split Enz, but the hits are always fun to hear. It are the Crowded House songs who stand out the most though. Maybe because the crowd knows them the best, or maybe because these were some of the best songs the Finns ever wrote down.
Hrm, I'm just going to go over the highlights for me now before it all fades into a blur. Angel's Heap was just amazing. I love this song so much, just gorgeous. This was another amazing version. Last Day of June was played at the request of the audience and just... damn, I adore this song so much. Same with Edible Flowers.
I think something in the concert changed for me when they started playing "There goes god". It was the first Crowded House song they played and for the first time, it really sunk into me that Paul Hester would never be playing with them again. Maybe everyone felt that, because after the song ended, Neil stepped forward and dedicated the next song to Paul (which then quickly got dedicated to all Pauls out there). They played a haunting version of "It's Only Natural", which gave the entire song a complete different meaning and kinda made me want to cry. Later on in the concert, Neil stepped up again and suggested that the entire hall would sing a song with him, just like Paul liked to do it. He then softly started to sing "Four seasons in one day" and everyone sang with him. Gorgeous how he holds the audience entirely on his hands and can get them to do pretty much anything. I love "Four seasons in one day", it's possibly one of the most beautiful Crowded House version ever and that version there sung so imperfectly might be the perfect one. Neil seemed pretty happy with it too.
Of course, Weather with you kicked ass as well and had everyone going with them again. And Neil pulls it of for the so manieth time to get everyone to join in and sing along. (Although the most impossible moment was on his Try Whistling This tour where he divided the audience in two and taught us to imitate the drums and the guitar and then made us sing while he started to sing the lyrics. Which worked. Neil was as stunned as us as he explained it never before actually did work.)
Naturally, the Finn humour was present throughout the entire show. It started with mumbling about how Neil woke up their father at 5am the other night because he had forgotten the time difference. Something Neil occasionally does, but it's alright because he's 82 and in good health and the trick to that is an egg in the morning and whiskey in the evening. They had a bit of bad luck with this show as their equipment kept failing (the sound wasn't actually all that good at first, but it did get a bit better). Someone shouted to Neil and did this really long explanation and although everyone was quiet, Neil just couldn't understand. He then went on about "what are you waffling about?" Then Tim and Neil degraded into a discussion about how "waffling" is an internation word everyone understands. Finally someone explained that said person had actually asked for "Last Day of June" and Neil - in totally admiration for said person's listening skills - promplty played the song.
Tim at a sudden point in between the songs, apologised to the roadie for calling him a "hideous person" the other day. Neil pointed out that perhaps it wasn't a good idea to do this sort of apology in public and on stage as it still implied there was a reason that he called John a "hideous person". Tim agreed that perhaps saying he called John a hideous person in public and apologising might not be that good, and he'd apologise again later on backstage. He even offered to kiss John.
It was sad to part with them again, but they played two hours straight which is really good. Afterwards we ran into Se and her boyfriend. I hadn't seen her in ages so it was really good. Especially at a Finn concert. *g*
Kurt and I went to have another drink in Brussels and we then managed to find our way back without any problems whatsover. Yaay!
So to round this post off. The concert was great. Sadly enough, the sound wasn't 100%. Hated that it seemed to go a bit at the cost of Neil's voice, but they did sort it out a bit. I think I do like Neil Finn concerts better than Finn Brothers. I just never got into Split Enz that much, and I think Neil just has a better repertoire to dig from. Sorry, I'm just not big on Tim. Notice how my eyes were constantly on Neil the whole frakking time? Still, it was a great concert. I wouldn't have missed it for anything in the world. In a way, I think it also was a goodbye to Paul Hester.
no subject
Date: 2005-06-13 07:22 pm (UTC)I had a friend of mine who once made me a tape with her favourite Enz songs on it. You're right, after listening a few times they do grow on you. Heh, I did notice a certain pattern where I liked the Enz songs with Neil the best (Better the Devil, One Step Ahead, etc). I might be obsessed? ;o)
no subject
Date: 2005-06-13 10:25 pm (UTC)No problems about the CD's but if you change your mind, feel free to drop me a line at any time to request or just to chat.
All the best...