Photo by Chona Kasinger
I kicked off Bumbershoot 2007 with nostalgia, heading to the Memorial Stadium Main Stage (or whatever the hell corporate entity it's named for now) to see Australia's New Zealand's own kings of sweet melodic pop, Crowded House, with a couple of pals. It was a great way to break into what would undoubtedly be a long and active Bumbershoot weekend. Hipsters, kids, and oldsters danced around in the sun, ate blocks of french fries the size of Rhode Island, and caught some rays of perfect sun while the dulcet sounds of the Brothers Finn and co. washed over the crowd like calm, tropical waves. Ahhhh, Bumbershoot!
I missed igLiz even more than usual during the set, as she's the Crowded House superfan while I'm more of a casual admirer. She would have been in great company - the place was teeming with fans, and the front area was packed with folks jumping up and down and expressing their general huge enthusiasm for the show. While I enjoyed the set (and marvelled over the fact that this was my very first Crowded House show ever, even after all these years), I was feeling a bit lame, eager for the hits and sad I'm not more familiar with the band's full repetoire, when the opening notes to "Don't Dream It's Over" kicked in. Huzzah!
Then a highlight that that made me feel slightly less lame: once the lyrics to the song kicked in, some (frightfully square) dude behind me proclaimed, "This is their song??!?! I had no idea this was their song! This is one of the Top Hits of The 80s!!" It never fails to amaze me how people can make musical proclaimations with such authority like that after expressing the deepest limits of abject ignorance. Good times.
But truly the highlight came a few songs later, when Eddie Vedder joined the band onstage to perform, "Something So Strong." Yes, EDDIE VEDDER JOINED CROWDED HOUSE ONSTAGE!!!!
Um, that was cool. And with that, I was ready to leap headfirst into my Bumbershoot day...
1 Rick said on September 2, 2007
Lines like these are why I love you, igDana.
2 imaginary dana said on September 2, 2007
Oh! Thank you so much for noticing! Even with my typo (I blame heat stroke), I stand by my snark.
3 Angus Norton said on September 3, 2007
Nice write up, but one small correction....Neil Finn is NOT an Aussie. He is a KIWI! He is from New Zealand. Never ceases to amaze me how many people get this wrong. Split Enz were also a full Kiwi band!
4 imaginary dana said on September 3, 2007
That's it -- we need official imaginary fact-checkers and copy editors. Send your resumes to tig@threeimaginarygirls.com.
I totally know that when I'm not posting late-night articles high on caffeine.
;)
5 imaginary liz said on September 4, 2007
Awee - sweet review! Sorry I wasn't around to catch the Aussie / Kiwi heat stroke induced typo. Sounds like a great show. I've always thought that they're a much better band in the sunshine than a dark venue. I guess the new backing band (2 new members) did well? Oh, that Neil Finn. I bet he was killer with the banter too. Oh Neil.
6 Angus Norton said on September 4, 2007
thanks for the correction :o) Us Kiwis have a complex about these things.....rock on! :o)
7 imaginary dana said on September 4, 2007
I have flogged myself repeatedly for the error in my imaginary reporting ways!! The Kiwis rock, and the Finn's deserve better than my hair-brained mistake. My humblest apologies...
8 tony d said on September 5, 2007
I saw them when their first record came out at bumbershoot way back when...
If you want to see more Vedder/Finn fun check out the DVD and CD "7 Worlds Collide". This is a great live show where some surprising friends play on stage in Auckland with Neil.
Sad to have missed it so hopefully they come for a show again soon.
9 imaginary dana said on September 5, 2007
Whoa. How fantastic, to have that show in your musical memory banks. What year was that?
10 imaginary dana said on September 5, 2007
I also replaced my craptacular photo with a great one by the lovely Miss Chona Kasinger. Word up, and thanks, Chona!!
11 james said on September 5, 2007
i happen to have the dvd handy ;)
the "7 worlds" thing was 2001 - Neil had Vedder, Johnny Marr, Ed O'Brien & Phil Selway from Radiohead, Sebastian Steinberg (Soul Coughing), Jim Moginie (Midnight Oil), Lisa Germano & Tim Finn among others on stage with him - most of them all at the same time. its a pretty awesome dvd. the band only came together 4 days before the show, not that you'd ever know.
The Vedder/Finn connection is explained in the DVD - Ed was a long time Split Enz fan; Neil's son was a Pearl Jam fan and I guess when PJ toured NZ in the 90s they all met and have guested at each others shows ever since.
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