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 ’90s heyday with songs from the group’s 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, Neil’s 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 he’s a longtime collaborator who produced and played keys on the band’s first three albums.
[Buy Crowded House Concert Tickets]
More than half of the songs the group performed came from those three early Crowded House albums—their self-titled 1986 debut, Temple of Low Men (1988), and Woodface (1991).
About the Performance
The concert began with the melodic “Weather with You,” 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, “World Where You Live.” That was followed by “Teenage Summer,” the second single released from Gravity Stars, and one of four songs from the album performed at the concert.
[RELATED: Neil Finn Talks Crowded House’s New Album Gravity Stairs—“The Journey Has Been Tremendous”]
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 “Maggie May” and “Da Ya Think I’m Sexy?”
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. Seymour’s quirkily stylish outfit made him resemble some eccentric Hogwarts professor.
Liam Finn, who had established his own solo career before joining his dad’s band, got the chance to showcase his talents during the concert. He sang lead vocals on “The Howl,” a song he wrote on the Gravity Stars album.
Liam also hammed it up during “Sister Madly,” 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 “The Other” and a rendition of the 1984 Splitz Enz tune “Message to My Girl.”
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 “Don’t Dream It’s Over” and the equally catchy follow-up hit “Something So Strong.” The songs, both from the band’s 1984 self-titled debut, were Crowded House’s only two Top-40 hits in the U.S., peaking at No. 2 and No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.
For the concert’s penultimate song, the band got the audience rocking with the 1980 Split Enz classic “I Got You.”
Crowded House wrapped up the concert with a performance of “Into Temptation,” 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 duo’s melodic selection of tunes was extremely well-received. Fisher led the audience in a sing-along version’s of his group’s 2022 tune “Let Down” to close the performance.
Crowded House’s Upcoming Tour Plans
Crowded House’s 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 House’s 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:
- “Weather with You”
- “World Where You Live”
- “Teenage Summer”
- “Fall at Your Feet”
- “Bad Times Good”
- “The Howl”
- “When You Come”
- “Four Seasons in One Day”
- “Sister Madly”
- “Oh Hi”
- “Chocolate Cake”
- “The Other”
- “Message to My Girl”
- “I Can’t Keep Up with You”
- “Distant Sun”
- “Don’t Dream It’s Over”
- “Something So Strong”
- “I Got You”
- “Into Temptation”
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(Photo by Claude Sawyer)
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