Photo: MAEVE O’CONNELL
Review - Neil Finn looked as proud as punch to share the most recent Crowded House line-up - including sons Liam (guitars) and Elroy (drums and guitar) - with a packed audience at Wellington's TSB Arena on Saturday night.
But it was clearly more than just an opportunity for the two younger Finns to perform alongside their father.
The six-piece line-up - also featuring co-founding member Nick Seymour on bass, long-time producer Mitchell Froom on keyboards and percussionist Paul Taylor - took obvious delight in broadening the sound of the much-loved band during the first New Zealand show of their Gravity Stairs tour.
Opening with early classics 'When You Come' and 'World Where You Live', it was clear the group would not shy away from the hits.
But newer songs like 'To The Island', 'Teenage Summer' and 'Oh Hi' were served up quickly to remind the crowd that - in its many forms - the Finn family magic was as vital as ever.
Liam Finn brought indie guitar punch to the group, while vocally he was often assigned to cover his uncle Tim's distinctive harmonies.
The absence of the elder Finn loomed a little but Neil Finn seemed unperturbed, even asking the audience to give him "more Tim" as they sing.
A piano-driven version of the Split Enz track 'Message To My Girl' was also an unexpected high point and served to show what fine form Neil Finn's voice was in after more than 40 years of belting out some of Aotearoa's most treasured songs.
Photo: MAEVE O’CONNELL
The group was clearly enjoying finding their on-stage chemistry as well.
An impromptu jam tumbled into Hot Chocolate's 'You Sexy Thing' and Deelite's 'Groove Is In The Heart' after a light-hearted demonstration of the capabilities of Liam Finn's guitar effects pedal board.
Neil Finn's enjoyment in watching his offspring perform was obvious and he circled around to interact with all his players whenever he could step away from the microphone.
Meanwhile, Nick Seymour's bass lines and tone provided the strongest link to the original sound of the band - reminding the listener that this was indeed the real Crowded House.
'Private Universe' saw the band at their darkest and most propulsive before Elroy Finn descended from his drum kit to add acoustic guitar and vocals to 'Thirsty' and a beautiful 'Four Seasons in One Day'.
'Mean to Me' - a request from the audience - seemed to divert the tail end of the set towards a rockier more energetic end while Liam gently mocked his father's dancing with shouts of "go Dad" ahead of a raucous 'Locked Out'.
It also served to encourage the dancers in the audience beyond the awkward confines of the venue's seating. By the end of the night, only the grumpiest of hold-outs are left in their seats.
An encore of classic cuts - 'Weather with You' and 'Distant Sun' kept the audience singing - while Liam added a soaring vocal on the Gravity Stairs' stand-out 'The Howl' - before 'Better Be Home Soon' let the audience know that for this night, the dream was finally over.