Even without the Crowded House brand name behind him, Neil Finn can still fill a respectable two nights at the Olympia, and he rewarded the faithful with some shining examples of his songwriting skills. Finn closed up Crowded House shortly after their successful Best Of . . . set. The songs on his solo album, Try Whistling This, are well up to his earlier work with New Zealand's finest, which is just as well, since these new tunes made up the bulk of Finn's Olympia set.
After a solid but unremarkable start, Finn pulled out his first surprise of the night with I Got You, the greatest hit from his earlier band, Split Enz. And just in case the Bill and Monica saga hasn't yet reached the remotest sheep farms of New Zealand, Finn dedicated Not The Girl You Think You Are to Ms Lewinsky and Sinner to Mr Clinton. Truth, Loose Tongue and She Will Have Her Way could also have been apropos.
The band featured Finn's teenage son, Liam, who moved deftly from guitar to keyboards to drums to vocals, a sort of all-in-one version of Hanson, only with better material to work with. Four Seasons In One Day and Don't Dream It's Over saw Finn embrace his previous band's legacy, and former Crowded House bassist Nick Seymour - now resident in Dublin - joined his exbandmate onstage for Fall At Your Feet and When You Come.
Finn might be settling into semi-comfortable middle-age, but at least he's doing it on his own, finely-crafted terms.
