The May '08 show in Chicago was my fave. I saw three shows, Aug '07 in Grand Rapids, Sept '07 in Nashville and the aforementioned Chicago show. The show in Grand Rapids was "a nice pleasant show". The Nashville Show was a very good show, band was a lot tighter and sounded really good. But Chicago rocked! Lots of energy, there was brand new songs never before heard, the classics we all love, a couple of more obscure songs done and of course the Enz classic Message To My Girl. There was something for every kind of CH fan and hard to imagine how it could've been any better. Oh I was referring to the saturday night show, I wasn't able to attend Sunday night one, who knows that might've been as good, hopefully it was for those lucky enough to be there.

In 2007-2008 I saw them 4 times. The best was undoubtedly the Troubador show in LA. The intimate setting added a lot to the show and the boys were in rare form. Second place would probably be a tie between the pre-Coachella show in Pomona (It was great to see them live after such a long layoff...Matt & Mark mingled with the audience during Liam's set) and the Orpheum just recently (Neil's backup during Don McGlashan's set was electric and the crowdie dancing on the monitor during Private Universe was surreal). Last of all would be Humphrey's in San Diego. The band was great, Liam was great, but the seats were too close together and there too many people that were just there hanging out, not real crowdies. (Although I have to say that talking with Matt in the parking lot before the show was pretty cool....isn't it great to have a band that enjoys and appreciates and connects with its fans?)...All in all a GREAT CH year. I can hardly wait to see what 2008-2009 will bring...

I was very fortunate to have seen them 4 times in 2007-2008.

Hon. Mention: Montreal, St. Denis Theatre,
The band was getting tighter; the audience was very appreciative but a little restrained compared to the New York and DC crowds. I fondly remember the moment when the audience wouldn't let go of the "la-la-las" from She Called Up. Neil turned around and joined the crowd in their sing a long. We had great seats and better Frenz mates in the third row.

Bronze: NYC, Beacon Theatre, First Night
The audience was electric. It is hard to forget Neil jumping into the orchestra pit to chase away the security folks... unsuccessfully ... but the banter was top notch, they rocked just like Mark hart said they would. Many lesser groups would die for this bronze performance.

Silver: NYC, Masonic Lodge
Seeing them for the first time since the Woodface tour just built a high level of anticipation that has only been matched by the pending birth of my daughter and my wedding day. In all cases, the results surpassed the anticipation. The band was raw, had some glitches no doubt, but they reaffirmed their amazing chemistry and sound.

Gold: Washington, DC, 9:30 Club
What an amazing gig. I was even more impressed with Neil than ever before. He was a front man for a wonderful group again, and this gig showcased his charisma, golden voice, and musical chops. I thought his voice suffered from the packed schedule of the first North American tour. In DC, his voice was back. Being (almost) 50 years old never sounded better. The feverish 9:30 Club audience urgently convinced the group to never overlook DC again. This was one explosive night of music.

Have to agree with MEN. It was really flat unil Neil invited the crowd to get up on their feet. Must be a message in there - Neil ask a bit sooner please

Live recording is really good mind

My vote's a tie between Barcelona and the Albert Hall.
In Barcelona, the Spanish audience was so into the music, they created the most tremendous atmosphere, and their singing was deafening! Plus, I got to shake BOTH Neil's hands, together with those of the rest of the band.
The Albert Hall was a joy. I hope that evening healed something for Neil, who'd had to perform through his grief there when Paul died.
Getting the techies to perform 'It's Only Natural' as the band watched from a box was inspired, and 'Message To My Girl' was an absolute delight.
I agree re Manchester. Could have been the less-than-soulful environment - smaller venues are much more engaging. Even though I was near the front on the arena floor, there seemed to be less energy than usual at this gig.
Having said that, I'm so grateful for having been able to see them live. If Manchester had been all I had, it would have been a dream come true.

I'll have to go for the Albert Hall gig as well. Although I've seen the band an incredible eight times since they reformed (and that's without them ever coming to Hungary!), I've been lucky enough to be at RAH exactly in the right place at the right time. I'd been to Wembley two nights before, which was amazing, but leaving our (great) seats and sitting on the floor of that beautiful old theatre, quietly rocking out to a fantastic setlist, to the complete frenzy of the Matt-Santa, the happy mood in the band, the complete lack of security... That gig was made of joy.
Actually, all 3 gigs I saw in Dec 2007 were, including Brighton.
I think last month's Madrid gig comes second for me, for all the reasons that lazarus mentioned

I saw 4 - two nights at the Mountain Winery in '07, and the two nights at the Fillmore in '08.

It almost seemed like each venue's 2-night stand was one show in two parts! The set lists ranged wide, not too much duplication from one night to the next.

How to choose between gloriously, soaringly victorious and transcendent on the one hand, versus punishing hot and sweaty in-your-rocked-face! on the other?

I go with the 2nd night at the Fillmore. They blew me out into the stars at the Winery, but at the Fillmore they just pounded me FLAT. I'll take that.

Plus...what about those tea towels? Huh? Nice.

Hmm...

I'll try and remember all the shows I've been to:

Thekla Social (Bristol)
Stockholm
Bournemouth
Brighton
Dublin Olympia x3
Thetford
Salzburg

I think that's it. Every single show was special - Thetford perhaps less so, but maybe that's just me (I'm not really a fan of big open air gigs).

The Bournemouth gig was particularly amazing - Neil made up a song on the night called (I think) 'Doing the Bournemouth Stomp,' because the crowd were, well, stomping between songs, and he drew out the final encore for ages, improvising lots of extra lines, singing 'I don't want the show to end.' Then the next night I saw them in Brighton and, incredibly, that gig was every bit as good, with probably a 50% different set list.

Salzburg was also rather special. Tiny venue, beautiful city, lovely atmosphere, great gig, then there was Stockholm (ditto Salzburg), oh and the celebratory shows in Dublin and the 'reformation' gig in Bristol (such a great sense of communal happiness).

OK, I'll stop there. I hope this doesn't sound like I've travelled too far up the southern end of my alimentary canal, but each show was unique & left me emotionally stunned for at least 24hrs afterwards.

I've been lucky enough (or mad enough ) to get to 10 shows since the band was reformed. My favourites in loose order.

The Thekla - just because it was the first gig (okay there was the webcast but I wasn't there! ). The cheers and applause when they came out on stage was amazing and to steal a quote from that Darius Danesh fella 'there was a lot of love in that room'.

Sherwood Pines - Great venue, great company, fantastic show and due to my origami request we got a snippet of Together Alone - bliss!

Glasgow SECC - It was just 'on' from the word go, the crowd response was amazing. I was sat with Suzanne who has seen a lot of gigs and she kept saying that she had never seen Neil that buzzing, Neil's lap round the hall, the electronic request sign 'nice suit nick'.

Royal Albert Hall - A last minute decision to go, again the best company you could want and such a fun day all round, great show, bumping into Matt outside before the show and having a good old natter, meeting all the guys after the show. A great xmas present.

Live Earth - extended my trip down under for other reasons but it meant that I now flew home two days after the show - so it had to be done . To see them on home turf and the crowd absolutely loving it, the lights going off at the end, BBHS

Olympia, Dublin - 3rd Night, June 08. - Happy, Happy show, fab company (yes again - there are so many brill frenz ), good vibes all round.


I've enjoyed every gig that I've been to and each one has it's own highlights. It's nice to have a bit of a breather now (saving pennies and all that) but I am so looking forward to what comes up in 2009.

Unfortunately, I didn't make it to any of the shows this year, something which I regret a bit, because the band sounds amazing right now!

I did, however see them at Glasgow and Aviemore last year, which were both fantastic concerts. Glasgow, with just the four guys playing the most amazing music, was, for me, better than it would have been to see The Beatles back in the day. I love them that much!

I have been kept up to date with the band on their tour this year, and they always made me smile, especially what I caught of their Glastonbury performance on BBC.

However, I am kicking myself, for missing, up until tonight that is, their collaboration with Johnny Marr in Liverpool! Some of the videos on YouTube are fantastic! I am so jealous, the versions of Throw Your Arms Around Me and There Is A Light... look absolutely brilliant!

Hope there's room for a Johnny spot on the next album, he really seems to gel with the guys!

I saw them twice in Brussels and Paris.
Two different shows, Brussels was a big venue, Paris was more intimate ( 400 persons) , so i preferred Paris.

1. Wembley - I dislike Arena gigs as much as the next fan but this one was special.
2. Royal Albert Hall - so different to your usual Crowdie gig. More like a party than a gig. This is one I'd like to see the club issue as a CD for the fans.
3. Nottingham - Front row seats made this one for us.
4. Hyde Park - Different to say the least and memorable as much for the rain as anything else.
5. Liverpool - For me a little too much like a Greatest Hits set.
6. Manchester - Picked the wrong seats for this one so felt rather flat.

Glasgow SECC 2007 was awesome!

I'm so glad that there are a couple of shouts for the Albert Hall. For me this show had it all - the party atmosphere of the sing-a-longs, Matt-Santa, and the techies playing - the emotion of the references to "where it all started" (referring to the Albert Hall/Finn Bros gig, featuring Nick,just after after Paul died - the night that got them back together again)- Neil phoning Sharon to sing "Message to my girl" and the setlist which was designed for the fans. I can still remember it all so vividly. All that in that magnificent venue! Top-notch!

I saw Crowded House in Brisbane in 2007 and then flew to NZ to see Split Enz in March.
Both were incredible.
However, if I have to pick a favourite I would have to pick out of the two, it'd be the Enz in Auckland.
I have never seen them in their home country before and something about seeing them in the land of the short, flat vowel made it that much more special.
I cried during Message to My Girl. And Charlie. God, I'm hopeless!
Even though our seats were up in the nosebleed section, it was just an extraordinary experience ~ very atmospheric.

quote:

Originally posted by Not the girl I think I am:
Mine would have to be the first night at Somerville Theatre this past May. We got such an amazing mix of obscurities once Neil decided to try to play all the songs he's written with someone's name in it. It was just an all-around special show that night.

Yes, yes and yes. It's pretty hard to top a show with:

Dawn
Hello Sandy Allen
Lester
Iris
Log Cabin Fever*

Meeting the band afterwards and finding them to be so nice was the icing on the (chocolate) cake.

*All the more special to me b/c I requested it

Not that i think it was the best gig i`ve ever been, but i agree with Lazarus the Barcelona crowd impressed me. They surely know how to make a party going in Spain. So also good memories about that one in here.

I have so many favorites-

- The 2nd show at Saratoga Winery, because the VIP Box o' Frenz was unbelievable and it was the day before my birthday. (Gah! Was that really a year ago?!)

- The Glass House in Pomona because I never thought I'd get to see the Crowdies live.

- The LA Greek Theatre show because I hung out with the fabulous Finngirl...you know what we did!!!

- The first Orpheum show because I hopped up on a speaker for mere seconds before security booted us off (what was I thinking?!), but got to meet Neil afterward and chat briefly about living on Sycamore.

- The first NY Fillmore East show b/c I stood in line in the rain for hours but met great East Coast Frenz, including JennyinNY, and introduced my sister to the Crowdies live.

I'd agree with Minty, who said "Every single show was special"

However, I do have favorites. The Aug 10, 2007 show in Philadelphia was perfectly wonderful. As were the Mountain Winery shows I heard via the Kufala box set. But my favorite show was the night in Portland because it was one of the longest (at least via the Kufala recordings), it contained a stellar version of "Hole In The River," and I got to meet each of the band members and Liam after the show and they couldn't have been nicer!

Probably the Fillmore SF show in May when my 10 year old daughter got to see her first live concert, and told me later, "Mom, I'll never forget this night. I may forget the order that they played the songs, but I'll remember everything else."

It was the same night that I handed off the draft of an essay I'd written about being a lifetime Finn-Fan to one of the roadies, who took it in to Neil. The essay's now published, in a new anthology of women writing about being in their 40s called "Knowing Pains" - more info in the Original Creations forum for anyone interested!