CityLife

Crowded House

Crowded House

Crowded House
Manchester Apollo
May 26, 2010

The veteran New Zealanders rolled into the Apollo as part of their tour for forthcoming album The Intriguer. The stage certainly had an intriguing quality, bedecked with glowing geese, gnomes and toadstools, setting the tone for a fantastical evening.

Crowded House have earned a reputation for the communal experience of their live shows and tonight is no exception, as it's a family affair right from the off.

After the first big singalong of Fall At Your Feet, Neil Finn's son Liam shows up on guitar, and his dad back at home in New Zealand makes an appearance via webcam.

From there on in the band are flying. Finn's careworn voice fills the Apollo as two thousand people sing back every word of harmony-laden hits such as Distant Sun, It's Only Natural and Four Seasons In One Day, plus a rare outing for fan favourite Pineapple Head.

The newies are nicely paced throughout the set, as is the jovial banter and the amusing bursts of unexpected electronica from Finn, a recent keyboard convert.

By the time they get to Weather With You, the crowd are putty in their hands and with only the slightest encouragement from Finn, form an impromptu moshpit down the front.

Departing for an encore, they somehow manage to ramp up the excitement levels even more, as they return with local legend Johnny Marr in tow. Receiving a hero's welcome, he joins the band on covers of Smiths classics Please Please Please Let Me Get What I Want and There Is A Light That Never Goes Out, plus his daughter makes an appearance on another song just to add to the familiar vibes.

After Marr's mesmerising cameo Don't Dream It's Over closes the gig, sung to the rooftops by the buoyant crowd, and it's safe to say it's been a joy from start to finish. The audience departs safe in the knowledge that really, it doesn't get much better than this.