Dream never over

AT HOME: Neil and Tim Finn enjoying performing together in Te Awamutu for the first time since the 1984 Te Awamutu Centenary Split Enz concert.

Backstage Pass’ Dean and Robyn Taylor always dreamt of promoting Tim and Neil Finn for a return concert in their hometown. On Friday night that dream came true.

‘The Finn Brothers Play Gracelands’ in the Te Awamutu College Hall was an intimate get together with two Kiwi musical icons — as Tim said ‘we could be at home’. Neil reminded him ‘they were’.

The capacity 500 crowd was treated to a snippet of the brothers’ extensive back catalogue of Split Enz, Crowded House, solo and Finn songs — as well as their version of ‘Hoki Mai’ for Maori Language Week (Te wiki o te reo Maori) and James Taylor’s ‘Fire and Rain’ which Neil recalls performing on the same stage as a student. He clarified the comment and said he probably sang it at parties while the other boys got the girls he liked.

It was the banter between songs that was as enjoyable as the performance. Mostly related to their childhoods in Te Awamutu, the Finn brothers revealed some more than intimate facts about their friends, their antics and their recollections of life in a small town in the 50s, 60s and 70s.

Some in the audience probably started to wince as the memories came flooding back — and names were named and events recounted.

It was a friendly affair. In his introduction to the evening, Mr Taylor promised a College Hall was the right venue — a good size for an intimate show and, for Neil, a special return to his old high school.

At one stage, sitting at the piano, Neil commented on exactly that, how the memories were flooding back. He recalled having the ‘best gig in town’ improvising for a fashion show for about 45 minutes while the best looking girls at school modelled their fashionwear.

The show was the first of three charity gigs in the Waikato from the Finns. They had accepted the invitation to perform for Gracelands, offering to play for free on Friday night — then played two shows in Hamilton’s WEL Energy performing Arts Centre for the True Colours Trust of which they are patrons.

Te Awamutu’s show will make about $50,000 for the Gracelands building fund to build a new headquarters in Te Awamutu.

Mr Taylor thanked a number of people and groups for making the show possible. Te Awamutu College donated the use of the hall and facilities, Scott Williams, who grew up here and owns Scott Sound and Lighting provided the PA gear and a team to set up and pack out the equipment, the school and Talos helped with lighting, Te Awamutu Courier, Rosetown Print and Photo Magic with promotional material and advertising, TicketDirect and Te Awamutu i-SITE Centre with ticket sales, Gracelands staff helped organise the event and ran merchandise and hosted the VIP guests, Te Awamutu Police and Te Awamutu Community Patrol kept an eye on security and the boys provided three of their own staff to help put the show together and look after the technical aspects on the night.

When the brothers returned for their encore they promised not to wait another 24 years to play their hometown again. As the lights finally came up after they were given a rousing standing ovation there were smiles everywhere as people realised they had been part of a very special occasion for Te Awamutu.