If you were at the corner of 23rd and 6th Avenue in Manhattan at 7:30 on Thursday, July 19, 2007, you would have wondered, as many a passerby did, about the line of people wrapped around the block in front of the Grand Masonic Lodge, the club house of the Free Mason Society. You may have been surprised to find out that they were lining up for a concert, given the average age of people in the line were probably mid thirty’s and above. What band could possibly bring out such a crowd in such an unusual location?

The answer is the comeback tour of Crowded House, a band started in Melbourne, Australia in 1986 who’s first hit single, “Don’t Dream It’s Over” from the album Crowded House reached #2 on the charts in the States. The band originally began with Neil Finn and Paul Hester, members of the New Zealand rock group Split Enz, and Nick Seymour, brother of Mark Seymour of another Australian rock group, Hunters & Collectors. Mark Hart, the fourth member of the Crowded House, joined in 1992. Lasting only a few successful years, the band played its last show in 1996 together to a sold out crowd in Australia.

The members parted ways and embarked on their own music careers. Paul Hester, adored by fans as “Hessie”, battled several years of depression and committed suicide in 2005. After Hessie’s death, it was hard to imagine that Crowded House would rise once again to record another album and go on tour. Yet, they did this year with the addition of Mark Sherrod, the former Beck drummer. Sherrod, though he can never replace Hessie in fan’s memories, adds a lively personality that complements Neil and Nick’s antics.

The show opened with Mark Hart playing the pipes that are part of the decoration in the balcony section of the auditorium. For some reason, pipe music always makes me thinks of mystery houses and Halloween. They began with “People are Like Suns” and continued on to an old favorite, “Locked Out.” Neil commented on the state of the world repeatedly after each new song from “Time on Earth,” perhaps reflecting on the darker side of the album. The band did not forget crowd favorites and classics including, “Seven World Collide,” “Fall At Your Feet,” “Don’t Dream It’s Over,” “Better Be Home Soon,” and “Four Seasons.” The audience rewarded or bored the band with plenty of singing along. Although we go to concerts to hear the people who can sing and perform do, it is a much more entertaining experience to have an audience who knows the music so well that they can sing along. There was also plenty of improvisation and spur of the moment beats and melodies from the eternal songwriter, Neil Finn.