As I'm watching the final encore song "Don't Dream It's Over" from the final concert of Crowded House on November 24, 1996, I still can't think that this was one of THE BEST bands that crafted incredible pop songs and managed to blend a truley distinct taste of "down under" combined with elements of water, passion, earth, romance, heartache and so much more... I have been waiting for a decade for this concert to be released to the masses and when my brother and his family headed to New Zealand, the birthplace of my niece, it crossed my mind to "google" "Crowded House" and low and behold their final concert had JUST been released with out-takes and that sweet DVD bonus footage....off I ran to HMV to grab my copy but life has been so busy it wasn't until two weeks later that I managed to sit down and take in the show...that SKIPPED halfway through so back to HMV I roamed to exchange my copy for one that worked.... I have always drawn a line between Neil Finn & Phish...it is without question that they share similiar song structure and colourful lyrics that conjure up images of unique obscurity and was confirmed when Phish turned to Tchad Blake to produce their final albums who Neil Finn & Crowded House have turned to for some of their best written and produced albums...and to see Neil play with members of Radiohead only solidifies his presence and influences in modern music.. Like someone who once stated..."Crowded House is a band that makes you want to give up your day to day life and join this band..." - Crowded House have left the building -
