7 Worlds Collide: Neil Finn & Friends Live at St. James
If anyone can pull together the biggest concert event of any given year in the south Pacific, it’s Neil Finn. Considering that Crowded House earned the distinction of “best concert in the world” for its 1996 farewell concert, it may be no surprise that he also drew some of the biggest crowds in 2001 with his star-studded week-long gig in Auckland, New Zealand. Featuring Eddie Vedder, Lisa Germano, Ed O’Brien, Johnny Marr, Tim Finn, and Betchadupa (the band headlined by Neil’s son Liam), 7 Worlds Collide is a record of the best performances from that week.
One unusual thing about 7 Worlds is that every one of the celebrity guests get their own moment in the sun, rather than being relegated to the background. Eddie Vedder also tries his hand at some classic Split Enz tunes, including a rousing rendition of “History Never Repeats” backed up by Betchadupa.
Hearkening back to the Crowded House Farewell To The World concert video for a moment, the nicest thing about that was that it got the introductory and interview material and rehearsal footage out of the way early on, and then allowed the show to go on unimpeded. By contrast, 7 Worlds is liberally peppered with interview segments - it’s rare to go more than two or three songs without having the flow interrupted by Finn’s praise of his musical guest stars (or vice versa). If anything, that’s my biggest problem with 7 Worlds, but given that the interviews usually accompany that guest star’s moment in the spotlight, I’ll be damned if I can think of a better way it could’ve been done.
The performances are energetic and command every bit of your attention, and the combined force of all of these “household name” musicians is awesome. No one is grandstanding here because they’re from Radiohead and feel they should be getting more attention. Given the very short rehearsal period that everyone had to prepare for these shows, it’s actually quite impressive. Professional musicians they may be, but it still takes a formidable amount of talent and skill to learn that many of someone else’s songs so quickly.
The highlight of the evening, however, is a fantastic new song, “Edible Flowers”, which Neil Finn announces as a tune from an upcoming Finn Brothers album. The song is absolutely gorgeous, and Neil and brother Tim’s voices are in fine form. If anything, I’ll be looking forward to the next Finn Brothers CD a lot more than I anticipated this DVD.