Crowded House / Augie March / The Walls

Andy J Ryan Apr 06, 2023

Crowded House – Sydney Entertainment Centre, 5 November 2007

After a farewell to the world that is still talked about in revered tones more than a decade later, the Crowdies don’t dream its over.

The Walls begin the evening with a jaunty blast of Gallic rock eked out from a plank-sized strip at the front of the stage. They sound like The Babyshambles could if they only dabbled in the occasional pint of Guinness instead of smack and supermodels.

Augie March were nervously in awe of the occasion, making the best of their short set by playing “a good representation of what we’ve done over the years”. Some wolf-whistles and encouraging shouts from the audience in response to their opening song prompted the drummer to reveal “I’ve waited a long time for a man in a stadium to call out the name of my band” to which singer Glen hastily rebuked “well I’ve had to remind you a few times”. The band told of the touring weariness they had recently experienced from a month and a half of shows just completed in America, lamenting the ongoing tiredness meant ever-dwindling energy to write any new songs. Instead we were treated to a rollicking ‘This Train Will be Taking No Passengers’. When they finish with their poignant and prominent single ‘One Crowded Hour’ its not that much of a stretch to imagine them with a stadium to themselves not too far down the track.

It was almost as if Crowded House farewelled the band and released their songs over to the people that November day on the Opera House forecourt back in ’96. While the band whole-heartedly presents many songs off their latest album “Time On Earth’, they are happy to share the singing with the audience when they dip into their greatly revered back catalogue of hits. After the crowd feverishly accompanies a call-and -response rendition of ‘World Where you Live’ Neil praises us with “you’re in the game now Sydney”.

The greatest reason Crowded House are so well loved is their almost humble approachability. Nearly every between song break bought some jovial banter or horse play, whether it be mucking about with a pencil camera, attempting ballet moves, bird noises or an impromptu jam of disco hit ‘Born to be Alive’.

A particularly hirsute Liam Finn was bought out for a couple of touching songs with his old man and guest guitarist Davey Lane was joyously grinning through the whole experience as if it was granted by the Make A Wish Foundation. While some of their newer material had a bit of a hard sell to a Monday night audience, the second half of the set veered more to the classics built into a wonderfully delirious conclusion.

The set proper finished with a rousing ‘When You Come’ before paring back into ‘Distant Sun’. A quite unnecessary “On your feet Sydney” introduced the first encore whose quality is such I merely have to list them: ‘Locked Out’, Something So Strong’ and ‘Weather With You’. A brief respite and we were lulled into the brilliant Four Seasons in one day before the cracking ‘Italian Plastic’ was dedicated to the sorely missed Paul Hester. A spine tingling, hair raising finale saw the whole room plunged into darkness and a swaying volley of mobile phone screens illuminate the cavernous ‘Ent Cent’ like a mass of slow-dancing glow worms as the strains of ‘Better be Home Soon’ emanated from the stage. Unforgettably brilliant.

Set List

Private Universe
World Where you Live
Don’t Stop Now
Fall at your Feet
Whispers & Moans
English Trees
Heaven that I'm Making
Love you till the Day I Die
Silent House
Don’t Dream it's Over
Pour Le Monde
Walked her Way Down
When you Come
Distant Sun

ENCORE -

Locked Out
Something So Strong
Weather with You

ENCORE 2 -

4 Seasons
Italian Plastic
Better be Home Soon