I have loved Crowded House for twenty years, yet, this was the first time it worked out for me to see them live. My seats were pretty good at The Pabst... first floor right, row D, seat 5. As an extra bonus, Liam Finn was supporting the tour (Liam is Neil Finn’s son). I need not tell you that Neil is in Crowded House, right?

Not knowing much about Liam Finn, I was only sure he’d have a great voice. He came out and I swear it took him mere seconds to win over the audience with his wit, charm and talent. A very lovely and interesting set was presented, with Liam singing, playing guitar, and playing drums. He layered sounds with a looping pedal and at some point I believe he mentioned use of a woofer. The vocals were so similar to Neil’s... but don’t let that fool you, Liam is unique and clearly has his own identity and should not be compared.

A couple of the songs played were, ‘Second Chance’ and ‘Gather to the Chapel’ – both off of Liam’s debut release, ‘I'll be Lightning’. I just can’t believe one young man brilliantly pulled off what sounded like a 3 or 4 man show!

16 Frames hit the stage next. Honestly, at first, Steve Sulikowski, the lead singer, came across to me as being slightly cocky and his constant hand movements were driving me nutty. However, after the first two songs he won me over with his sincere interactions with the audience. I’m not sure why he rubbed me wrong initially... but I was now over that and realizing that 16 Frames is a really tight, special band. Visually, Steve was the most animated and I found him to be extremely entertaining (including his hand movements!). He also has strong vocal abilities, songwriting skills, lots of passion, and just has that “star” quality. I have since read that Clive Davis signed him to Arista immediately after hearing ‘Back Again’ and I completely understand why!

Some of the 16 Frames songs played were, ‘Back Again’, ‘Close Range’ – which he cutely dedicated to the audience in the most distant 3rd tier, ‘Ring of Fire’ (written by June Carter & Merle Kilgore), ‘My History’ and ‘Let’s Not Pretend’. Not wanting to leave out the rest of the band, I want to say again that they are clearly a very tight-performing and gifted group of musicians. I strongly recommend making a point to see them live next time they are in your neck of the woods.

Crowded House! I think that only 15 people in the packed venue didn’t immediately stand as they entered the stage! We all went fucking crazy; saying it differently would be an understatement.

Let’s start out with the set list:

01. Recurring Dream
02. World Where You Live
03. Say That Again
04. She Called Up
05. Don’t Stop Now
06. There Goes God
07. Fingers of Love
08. Don’t Dream it’s Over
09. Silent House (co-written by the Dixie Chicks)
10. Transit Lounge
11. Spellbound (Split Enz)
12. Pour Le Monde
13. ‘I Won’t Go In There’ (Nick Seymour instigated and improvised,
      the rest followed)
14. Distant Sun
15. When You Come
16. Locked Out

1ST ENCORE
17. Weather with You
18. Four Seasons in One Day
19. Something So Strong

2ND ENCORE
20. Private Universe
21. Better Be Home Soon

As expected, Neil and Nick were extremely sharp-witted, fun, and had a lot of character. Also expected, Liam played with CH. The backdrops and stage props were fantastic! Vibrant colors alternated, buildings grew and collapsed, letters and stars filled the sky behind them,... it all was lushly gorgeous. We believe Nick Seymour (bassist) was responsible for the stage design.

Neil asked for the lights and PA system to be turned off for ‘Four Seasons in One Day’. He urged the audience to sing along... what fun! I was surprised, to tell you the truth, that 90% of the audience knew every single word and wasn’t afraid to sing. I, of course, was one of the 90%! Thankfully, though, they finished the song properly (which sounded much, much better).

Funny stories were told, one in particular about their stay at the Hyatt Hotel in Chicago the night before. They mentioned paper airplanes flying out of their rooms and security guards coming ‘round. Makes me think they were staying at the open-centered Hyatt at O’Hare (Airport).

This night was worth all the years I waited. Crowded House sounded unbelievable, played a very long set, the audience was psyched, and the supporting bands were fantastic. It just doesn’t get any better! If you don’t have CH’s new album, ‘Time on Earth’ yet, I highly recommend you change that.

Links w/ Music Clips:
Official Crowded House MySpace
Official 16 Frames Myspace
Official Liam Finn MySpace