Crowded House @ Kings Park
w/ Cat Power, Maistrato
Friday, November 24, 2022
Crowded House are an Australian and New Zealand institution by this point, but if Friday night’s concert was any indication then they certainly aren’t resting on their laurels. Coming off the back of the accomplished Dreamers Are Waiting LP from mid-last year, Crowded House made room for some modern tracks but largely played to their tremendous back catalogue and confirmed why they are so beloved on what was the first of a three-night set of concerts at Kings Park.
Opening proceedings was the mysterious and somewhat unheralded Greek four-piece Maistrato. These four Greek gentlemen, with ages spanning several generations, certainly played with a fluidity that suited their wisdom in years. As punters slowly filled the venue, Maistrato played a selection of romantic and deeply beautiful traditional Greek folk tunes. With two members on acoustic guitars and two on the Bouzouki (a form of traditional Greek lute), their music was at times slow and romantic and at other times dexterous, carried by some mighty fine tremolo picking. This reviewer can’t say that he was familiar with all of them but he did catch a great cover of Don’t Let Me Down and the beautiful ballad Miserlou, as made famous to Western ears through several surf rock covers.
Next up was Cat Power, who delivered an incredible set which could have carried the night on its own. Cat Power is the alias of Atlantan singer-songwriter Charlyn “Chan” Marie Marshall, who has been an indie rock mainstay since her debut in 1995. If there was a complaint that could levelled it’s that the set was incongruous against the more pop-oriented material that was to follow, as Cat Power delivered a highly intimate, brooding set that would have been better suited fronting sometime like Nick Cave.
It’s unclear whether she was at 100% this evening, as she came out with a cup of tea and was seen a few times coughing away from the microphone. If this was the case then it in no way impacted her actual performance as she belted out a series of searing, open-ended numbers that drew from the well of folk, soul, blues and gospel. Many were taken from her latest album Covers, which was as its name implies. In Cat Power’s capable hands these songs became more amorphous, a series of emotionally piledriving stream-of-consciousness statements that felt straight from the heart.
The tracks were spare, accompanied only by a singular keyboard or guitar, and bled into one another in a showcase that was almost hypnotic. Highlights included a slow and grinding rendition of New York, New York, a twisting version of The Stones’ Satisfaction that segued into her 2003 track Good Woman, as well as a totally disarming version of Frank Ocean’s Bad Religion. Other classics such as Metal Hearts and closer The Greatest rounded out a performance that made King’s Park feel like a small room.
Crowded House finally came on a few hours into the evening and delivered a rollicking set that played both to the audience’s heartstrings and their sense of fun. Circus music marked the start of proceedings as the lights dimmed and the legends strolled on stage and broke quickly into Distant Sun. It immediately became clear that they were as sprightly as ever. Neil Finn was fun and energetic throughout in a performance that belied his years. His vocal power and inflections sounded as if he’d not aged a day since the early 90s.
His stage banter was on point too, equal parts playful and grateful. Though he may have slightly ribbed on the venue (pointing out the Botanic Garden’s unique water feature, its asymmetrical slant, and its different groupings of punters and their varying ticket prices), the band was obviously honoured to be there. The rest of the band held up too. Son Liam was dressed like a Jedi, while bassist Nick Seymour sported a kilt. Banter between Seymour and Neil was a delight, with neither hiding their age during a particularly great aside about Seymour losing his Fitbit. Rounding out the band was Mitchell Froom on keys and Neil’s son Elroy Finn on drums.
Both Finns justified their spot, playing excellently throughout and taking many stellar solo spots such as the great overdriven guitar solo on Dreamers track To The Island, the smooth tones on Pineapple Head, and the spacey, psychedelic histrionics of When You Come. His best and funniest was saved for Sister Madly which upped the studio version’s energy and featured a mad solo so drenched in wah-wah that it descended into chaos as Liam hoisted his guitar behind his head before running off stage, only to return to the stage and normality for a more by-the-books rendition of It’s Only Natural. Elroy on drums was sensational too, highlighted on his tribal drumming from Dreamers track Show Me the Way and a powerhouse performance to finish a swelling, cathartic rendition of Private Universe.
The latter track also featured the surprise return of Maistrato on the stage. The four-piece came back on and provided superb accompaniment to Private Universe and follow-up Four Seasons in One Day which took a quieter tack as the Bouzouki once again took centre stage. Penultimate closers Weather With You and Better Be Home Soon also saw the Greeks return and flesh out the arrangements. It would have been nice to have seen Maistrato’s backstory acknowledged by the band at this stage, as it is a wonder. This four-piece was discovered by Crowded House during a trip to Greece, playing at local tavernas in a small town. An impromptu jam session or two later led to an invite for these four men to accompany Crowded House on their Australia tour. These gentlemen certainly made their impression felt and one can only imagine their reaction to the crowd during the show’s closing stages.
At this rate a lot of punters were up on their feet and singing. Better Be Home Soon was a special moment, the crowd participation so strong that it felt like an audience acapella at points. It’s only a shame that the band didn’t pack two of its huge tracks (and reviewer faves) Fall At Your Feet and Don’t Dream It’s Over here, instead reserving them for earlier in the show. Both renditions were excellent in any case, particularly the former which featured a slow, acoustic final verse. Arguably the highlight of the night came shortly after with a solo, spot-lit turn on piano by Neil for Split Enz classic Message to my Girl, which was achingly beautiful. The Split Enz throwbacks saw one final return however. After the encore many in the crowd went to leave, but in an unprecedented (and perhaps unplanned, given the dimming of the lights) final turn, the band came on for a raucous rendition of I Got You.
It was the perfect end to the evening, a high-energy celebration of over forty years in music with no end in sight. This was a show that had it all, from excellent support acts to a dynamic main act setlist that ran the crowd through a gamut of emotions. This was a stellar set that had something for everyone.
MATIJA ZIVKOVIC
Photos by Stu McKay
