Crowded House played at a crowded theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut, on Friday, September 7, and it was pure pop perfection. The veteran New Zealand/Australian band, led by singer/songwriter Neil Finn, delivered a 19-song set that mixed hits and popular tunes from their 1980s and โ90s heyday with songs from the groupโs new album, Gravity Stars.
Finn and company also threw in a couple of gems from his pre-Crowded House band Split Enz for good measure. Since 2020, the group has been a true family affair. That year, Neilโs sons Liam and Elroy joined the group on guitar and drums, respectively. Rounding out the current lineup is keyboardist Mitchell Froom and founding bassist Nick Seymour. Froom officially joined Crowded House in 2020, although heโs a longtime collaborator who produced and played keys on the bandโs first three albums.
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More than half of the songs the group performed came from those three early Crowded House albumsโtheir self-titled 1986 debut, Temple of Low Men (1988), and Woodface (1991).
About the Performance
The concert began with the melodic โWeather with You,โ a song from Woodface that was a Top-10 hit in the U.K. in 1992.
The band then played a gem from their first album, โWorld Where You Live.โ That was followed by โTeenage Summer,โ the second single released from Gravity Stars, and one of four songs from the album performed at the concert.
At this point, Finn shared a humorous story about how he was mistaken for Rod Stewart while staying at the casino. He then proceeded to sing a couple of a cappella snippets โMaggie Mayโ and โDa Ya Think Iโm Sexy?โ
The band members were in good humor at the gig, with Neil Finn and Seymour sharing witty banter between each other and joking with the audience throughout the concert. Seymourโs quirkily stylish outfit made him resemble some eccentric Hogwarts professor.
Liam Finn, who had established his own solo career before joining his dadโs band, got the chance to showcase his talents during the concert. He sang lead vocals on โThe Howl,โ a song he wrote on the Gravity Stars album.
Liam also hammed it up during โSister Madly,โ a song from Temple of Low Men, jumping off the stage to play a slowly right in the faces of the audience members in the front row.
For most of the show, Neil accompanied himself on guitar, but he switched to piano for several tunes in the middle of the concert. This segment featured a performance of a brand-new song titled โThe Otherโ and a rendition of the 1984 Splitz Enz tune โMessage to My Girl.โ
A Hit-Filled End to the Concert
Not surprisingly, Crowded House saved their best-known songs for the end of the show. As the concert approached its finale, the band played its signature tune โDonโt Dream Itโs Overโ and the equally catchy follow-up hit โSomething So Strong.โ The songs, both from the bandโs 1984 self-titled debut, were Crowded Houseโs only two Top-40 hits in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 and No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
For the concertโs penultimate song, the band got the audience rocking with the 1980 Split Enz classic โI Got You.โ
Crowded House wrapped up the concert with a performance of โInto Temptation,โ a fan favorite from Temple of Low Men.
About the Opening Act
Michigan indie-rock act Michigander opened the concert with a six-song acoustic set featuring a pared-down lineup of frontman Jason Singer and touring lead guitarist Jake LeMond. The duoโs melodic selection of tunes was extremely well-received. Fisher led the audience in a sing-along versionโs of his groupโs 2022 tune โLet Downโ to close the performance.
Crowded Houseโs Upcoming Tour Plans
Crowded Houseโs current North American tour in support of Gravity Stars continues Sunday, September 8, with a show in Niagara Falls, Canada. The trek is plotted out through a September 28 concert in Paso Robles, California.
The band will then head to the U.K. and Ireland in October for a series of shows. Those gigs will be followed concerts in Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Spain. Crowded House will wind down 2024 with a Down Under trek running from a November 9 performance in Wellington, New Zealand, through a December 14 concert in Brisbane, Australia.
Tickets for Crowded Houseโs concerts can be purchased now via a variety of outlets, including StubHub.
Crowded House Set List, 9/6/2024, Mashantucket, CT, Premier Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino:
- โWeather with Youโ
- โWorld Where You Liveโ
- โTeenage Summerโ
- โFall at Your Feetโ
- โBad Times Goodโ
- โThe Howlโ
- โWhen You Comeโ
- โFour Seasons in One Dayโ
- โSister Madlyโ
- โOh Hiโ
- โChocolate Cakeโ
- โThe Otherโ
- โMessage to My Girlโ
- โI Canโt Keep Up with Youโ
- โDistant Sunโ
- โDonโt Dream Itโs Overโ
- โSomething So Strongโ
- โI Got Youโ
- โInto Temptationโ
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