Wendy & Lisa are Alive and Well and Jamming in New Zealand



Auckland's Tabac bar hosted an impromptu performance by Neil (Crowded House) Finn on Wednesday 14th June. He was joined onstage by the Girl Bros themselves, who are currently down under, collaborating with Neil on his latest album.



Neil was relaxed in front of his home crowd at the little bar, obviously at ease as he warmed up with some of his older songs, including the pretty "Private Universe" from Crowded House's "Together Alone" album. He was accompanied by an Australian guitarist and a US drummer, "JJ".
After a few songs, Neil introduced Wendy & Lisa and they took the tiny stage rather bashfully. "We don't get down this way that often" said Wendy to the enthusiastic crowd of W & L admirers and record industry folks.
After a couple of new songs from Neil's current project, he took a break, inviting his guests to play some of their own material. Wendy switched from bass to rythym guitar, and took vocals on "Mother of Pearl". They played a couple of songs from their last album, I presume, as I am only familiar with their work up to "Eroica" (great album, btw). Wendy introduced a song called "I Will" (?), explaining that it was to her dead brother, and that singing it was like sending out a message to him. Lisa took a number at piano, accompanied only by Wendy's soft bass, then Neil rejoined them for a hoof through more of the new numbers. None stood out, but it was the premiere airing, and decidedly under-rehearsed.



It was excellent to see Wendy & Lisa, but they seemed rather nervous throughout the gig. This was strangely endearing, but unfortunately they didn't really shine under the circumstances. Lisa's acoustic piano was buried in the mix, and neither she nor Wendy seemed confident enough to really turn on the juice, although the crowd was behind them fully. Neil hinted that there may be more performances before they return to the States, so perhaps they'll have loosened up by then.