Crowded House – Gravity Stairs Tour (Melbourne 2024)
Any true Melbournian knows an event held at Rod Laver Arena is best reached by public transport, and so for many, only a short walk from Flinders St station or Richmond marks the start of the event.
Even as early as 6pm, a modest but by no means small crowd were amassing at the ticket office by Gate 4, some sporting sparkling jackets, previous tour t-shirts and everyone sporting an ear to ear smile and visible excitement. Eager fans waiting for their plus one, or three, “you should call her?”, “how far off is she?”, “is he on his way?” all eclipsed by the announcements and instructions for entry.
Inside by 7pm, the patrons slowly and casually started filling seats but even at 8pm, the seats were only half filled. Of course, for a Tuesday, this was to be expected.
Two screens adorned the sides of the stage, displaying a QR code and allowing the audience to vote on some of the songs appearing on the set list. This seemed to be a big hit, as all that could be seen for 30-40 minutes after entry, were people extending their pointed arm towards the screen and phones coming out.
Unfortunately the show took a very long time to ‘begin’, in fact the support act, Vera Ellen, started their assault on the still arriving audience from 7:40pm. Their presentation was loud and confusing, starting with their wardrobe choice, all dressed in vibrant bespoke outfits that would have seemed more appropriate for an obscure fashion show and invoked comments from surrounding patrons such as “what the @#$! are they wearing?” to “yeah, that’s just weird.”
Vera Ellen’s performance displayed a potent sense of fearful anxiety that was palatable and off-putting to the audience and was the equivalent of an angry boxer taking out their aggression on the bag, only with instruments with a full tonal clash. Their performance demonstrated a variety of ‘sounds’, almost all of them forced, awkward and unhinged and none of them seemed to truly be their own sound.
Leaving a wide, yet frustrating gap, sometime around 9pm is when all seats were taken and Crowded House came out on stage to full fan-fare, applause and cheers, whilst each band member held a lantern navigating the dimly lit stage. The atmosphere changed and without effort, upon the first few notes of the first song, the audience was in Neil and the bands pocket.
The musicianship displayed from the first to last was undeniable perfection, with all the hallmarks of generations of experience and professionalism on display. The band constantly giving each other (for those who have the eye to notice) the hand signals, nods, musical queues and ‘the look’.
Their music was so well practiced and innately natural that it appeared effortless and the band truly had fun performing for the audience.
The family bonds would have absolutely contributed to the congruency of the bands relationship, and it certainty did help for interesting anecdotes and banter in-between songs. Neil made a number of on-point observational remarks whilst interacting with the audience, but what made this performance so special was that each member of Crowded house connected with the audience personally, and held that connection from start to finish.
The set list included new material and the most popular hits from Crowded House and the crowd was also delighted with some Split Enz favourites. Crowded House had the entire Arena on their feet, singing as groups, as a whole, and dancing. Despite the large number of people, it felt like an intimate, personal back yard gathering and singing with your best friends – Crowded House.
Finishing at 11pm after a rousing encore, we had Better Be Home Soon!
A truly magical and “reverent” (Neil Finn) night.
Summary: Quotes overheard at the end of the night: "Wow, I really needed that. Incredible" "He still got it!" "Damn that was good" An exceptional performance and 100% entertainment by Crowded House.
5
5/5 Outstanding
About the Author
Scott De Lacy Scott has a professional IT background spanning over 18 years, is an hobbyist electronics designer, talented musician, holds qualifications as a trainer and experience in emergency and community services sectors. He reviews Movies, PC and XBOX One games, and hardware.
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