7 worlds collide

Every now and again a concert comes along that somehow equates to an experience that goes beyond the normal parameters of a night of live music. Tonight was such a night. I knew it would be. Like some sort of foreshadowed pre-conceived conclusion, I knew tonight would be special. Seven years ago Neil Finn (Crowded House, Split Enz, The Finn Brothers) put on a concert in Auckland where he invited a big group of musician friends from all over the place to play with him. It was a great success – a real creative masterstroke. 7 years later he decided to do it again. For three nights in Auckland, starting tonight in a tiny club a lucky few got to have a musical experience that will sustain for a long long time. To get the idea all you have to do is have a look at the lineup; Johnny Marr (The Smiths, Modest Mouse), Phil Selway, Ed O’Brien (Radiohead), Liam Finn, four members of Wilco, Jeff Tweedy, bassist John Stirratt, drummer Glenn Kotche and multi-instrumentalist Pat Sansone. Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall, Don McGlashan and Bic Runga. It’s a musical perfect storm.

There were wild rumors before the gig started that Eddie Vedder and Neil Young might show up – but once the night kicked off all the rumors were forgotten and the stellar lineup did what they do best. It was a night of highlights, but here is one that come to mind immediately post show…

Phil (drums) & Ed (guitar) from Radiohead playing with Liam on guitar, Johnny on guitar and Neil on vocals playing ‘Bodysnatchers’ by Radiohead. That song has the best guitar riff of the past 10 years – I’m calling it out. It’s the best groove since the cha-chunk bridge fill on ‘Creep’ circa 1994. when Ed plugged in his guitar you could hear the song coming – like a train down the line, you could sense it on its way. When they finally broke into it, it was as if the air had been sucked out of the room and in the void all that was left was the concussion of the thunderous backbeat and a guitar riff thrown down like fucking Zeus napalming the un-righteous. The guitar work rekindled my faith in the future of rock and roll. Forget the flavor of the moment – Radiohead is the shit and this song is the steadfast proof. Neil threw it all down and let it all go to give his best Thom impression – letting his voice ricochet into a falsetto machinegun – lyric sheet in hand, whirling around the stage like a sundrunk child. Liam jammed with Ed amping up the weight of the main riff while Johnny added the accents to bring it to a whole new plain. When it ended the crowd erupted into the euphoric blast that only come from a moment when everybody in the room, even the dishpig out back knows that they just experienced something special. I looked to the stage, only a few feet from me to see Ed mouth the words, “wow”.

Here is the original version in case you don't know the track. just imagine it at max volume in a club with 700 people going crazy...



What a night… oh and just to prove I was there… I got the fucking setlist!
Time to take my tinnitus infected ears to bed and get ready to fly to Cairo tomorrow.

Rock on and be well
S