Tim Finn has put a lot of work into his first tour since 2015 which I imagine has to be more than just the six ‘The Life and Times of Tim Finn’ shows in Australia and New Zealand.
This new show is an extension of the setlist curated for the one-off Tim Finn 2022 Night At The Barracks show in Sydney last October.
For ‘The Life and Times of Tim Finn’, Tim has added four more songs including the ‘True Colours’ cut ‘Nobody Takes Me Seriously’ in the main set and the encore with pre-fame Enz ‘Charlie’, peak of fame Enz with ‘Hard Act To Follow’ and the solo track ‘Staring At The Embers’, not performed by Finn since 1986.
‘Hard Act To Follow’ was also a rarity for Finn, never before performed as a solo song and last performed by Split Enz in 1989. Tim and brother Neil performed ‘Nobody Takes Me Seriously’ on a Finn Brothers show in 2015 and the regrouped Enz performed it as recently as 2008 but this was also the first time Tim Finn had ever played the song solo.
What was so great about this show was the setlist. If it wasn’t for some sound issues and clearly Tim’s voice was struggling at times, this show would qualify as one of the best concerts of 2023. The highlight was the fan in the audience with the prosthetic leg who took off her leg for Tim to sign.
The show is a chronological tour with the music history of Tim in Split Enz, Crowded House and solo. Placed back to back you can’t help but think it is also a bit about reclaiming some of the family fortune. Tim was a co-founder of Split Enz, younger brother Neil was a late starter but gets most of the kudos for the success. When you carve out the Neil songs and work with just the Tim songs, you can see the depth of Tim’s contribution and legacy to not only this band, but his impact on the Crowded House ‘Woodface’ album as well.
You can also feel the passing of the Split Enz torch between Tim and Neil with Tim’s last Enz album ‘Conflicting Emotion’ completely bypassed for this show. Neil also soaked up the hits on ‘Corroboree’. Tim’s imprint for that one comes from the more obscure ‘Ghost Girl’ and slightly better known ‘Hard Act To Follow’ in the encore.
Tim’s last dominance in Split Enz delivered big for him. From ‘Time and Tide’ the tracks ‘Dirty Creature’ and ‘Six Months In A Leaky Boat’ were two of his finest moments with the band. ‘Never Ceases To Amaze’ me was left out of this set but would be a good one to revisit down the track. Same too with ‘I Wouldn’t Dream of It’ on ‘True Colours’ as well as ‘Give It A Whirl’ and ‘Late Last Night’ from the early days.
Tim had a short innings with Crowded House. Just the one album ‘Woodface’ but ‘Chocolate Cake’, ‘Its Only Natural’ and ‘Weather With You’ were three of their finest moments.
There is a lot more to the music of Tim Finn than just Split Enz, Crowded House and the solo hits. 1995’s ‘Finn’ and 2004’s ‘Everyone Is Here’ didn’t rate a mention. They were the two Finn Brothers records. His soundtrack for Barry Humphries ‘Les Patterson Saves The World’ missed out too. (The movie is currently screening on Prime. Look for Tim’s cameo). There is also music from his musical ‘Ladies In Black’, his work with Phil Manzanera of Roxy Music and the Andy White collaborations ‘ALT’ and ‘AT’ that could give a more complete musical history of the Tim Finn legacy but then we would have a three hour show.
Consider ‘The Life and Times of Tim Finn’ a condensed Tim Finn best of. With more shows to come for Brisbane and Sydney this week and New Zealand next week (after hopefully a few lozenges for Tim and less sound issues) then you have a pretty rare show to be watched here if you can make it.
The Tim Finn band is:
Brett Adams – lead guitar
Tony Buchen – bass guitar
Carlos Adura – drums
Niall Anderson – Keys
Carlo Barbaro – Sax
Elliot Finn – BV and percussion
Tim Finn setlist, Melbourne, 13 September, 2023
My Mistake (from Dizrythmia, 1977)
I See Red (from Frenzy, 1979)
Stuff and Nonsense (from Frenzy, 1979)
Poor Boy (from True Colours, 1980)
Nobody Takes Me Seriously (from True Colours, 1980)
Shark Attack (from True Colours, 1980)
I Hope I Never (from True Colours, 1980)
Ghost Girl (from Corroboree, 1981)
Six Months in a Leaky Boat ((from Time and Tide, 1982)
Dirty Creature (from Time and Tide, 1982)
Fraction Too Much Friction (from Escapade, 1983)
Made My Day (from Escapade, 1983)
Persuasion (from Before and After, 1993) (Tim signs a prosthetic leg for a fan)
Chocolate Cake (from Crowded House, Woodface, 1991)
It’s Only Natural (from Crowded House, Woodface, 1991)
Weather With You (from Crowded House, Woodface, 1991)
Encore:
Charlie (from Dizrythmia, 1977)
Hard Act to Follow (from Corroboree, 1981)
Staring at the Embers (from Escapade, 1983)
Tim Finn
14 September, Brisbane, Fortitude Music Hall
17 September, Sydney, Opera House
20 September, Christchurch, Town Hall
21 September, Wellington, Michael Fowler Centre
23 September, Auckland, The Civic
https://www.livenation.com.au/artist-tim-finn-126493
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