Fresh from an appearance at the , played the first of a two-night stand at the Boulder Theatre on Tuesday night.
In a 35-year plus musical career, New Zealand’s Finn is still mostly known in the US for having written (and sung) “Don’t Dream Itap Over” and “I Got You.” Thatap a terrible misfortune, as Finn is revered everywhere else (particularly in the UK, and of course, New Zealand and Australia) as a genuine pop craftsman. Whether as a member of Crowded House, Split Enz, the Finn Brothers or his own solo material, Finn has created more irresistible melodies, as well as sophisticated baroque pop, than almost anyone since Lennon-McCartney.
Finn (who’s also released albums with members of Pearl Jam, The Smiths, Wilco, and Radiohead) played a career-spanning hour-and-forty-five-minute set of songs backed by a quintet that included his wife, Sharon, on bass and his son, Liam, on guitar. Liam, a great singer-songwriter in his own right, opened the show and clearly had plenty of fans of his own. He performed with singer EJ Barnes and was joined by his mom and dad on “Snug As Fuck,” (from his most recent album, 2014’s “The Nihilist”), a definite set favorite.
Neil Finn’s performance was far more than a fan favorites set, although there were several of those (“Message To My Girl”; “Fall At Your Feet”; “Don’t Dream Itap Over”; “Pineapple Head” and “Distant Sun”). Finn Brothers’ “Won’t Give In” and “Gentle Hum,” as well as “She Will Have Her Way” (from Finn’s 1994 solo debut album, “Try Whistling This) and “Dizzy Heights” (the title track from Finn’s third solo album, released two years ago) proved to be the adoring audience favorites, too.
Finn’s gorgeous voice, along with his irresistible falsetto, is still there, as is his engaging between-song banter. He went on at length about Colorado and marijuana legalization, previous appearances in Boulder both solo and on the 2004 Finn Brothers tour. There were the customary audience sing (or hum) along parts, the all-but-sold-out Boulder Theatre crowd more than happy to oblige. The show’s closed with a new song encore and a killer Split Enz one-two punch of hits from the band’s MTV years, “History Never Repeats” and a rousing, send-em-home-happy “I Got You.”
No matter what Neil Finn incarnation you like, Finn gave Boulder all that and more.
