We may never meet again....

The next day we met with Peter again. Peter commented on the fact that I seemed rather melancholy and not my usual self, which was true. I felt that this whole week had just flown by and I was sad for it to be over so soon. And I had so much to think about! On the other hand, I had vowed that morning never to drink G&T's again because I had a terrible headeache, so that might have had something to do with my mood as well!
We had very bad tickets for this show but Peter had a solution for this: he put us on the guest list! The Finns had reserved a lot of tickets for their family and friends since this was going to be their last concert together (for a long time anyway), and now we were part of this happy few! We were in row G, which is row 7 I think.

We met Jaffaman (Jeremy) and David Goldsmith, whom I both have known for a long time from the forum, and here is Jeremy's review of the show:


Had a great night meeting up with many Frenz. A totally unexpected line up of songs. In random order, here's what I can recall being played:Part of Me, Part of You, One Step Ahead (with one line from She Will Have Her Way), There Goes God, Persuasion, Homesick, Mood Swinging Man (wonderfully bizarre version, illustrating different moods), Poor Boy, Anything Can Happen, All The Colours, Where Is My Soul, Angels Heap, Don't Dream It's Over (Neil and Tim only),
Throw Your Arms Around Me (Neil and Tim only), Irish Heartbeat (one or two verses of the Van Morrison song)' Rock'n'Roll (part of the Gary Glitter song, led by Tim on piano), Time For a Change, I See Red (slow and fast versions), Betty (one or two lines from Neil only - Tim refused)Improv in E Flat (ownership of this tune donated to anyone who wanted it, including the bootleggers), Solos from the band (with Neil singing in the loudest rock voice this side of Jimmy Barnes), Bold As Brass, You Can Lead a Horse to Water (a couple of lines while the horse was on stage), Edible Flowers, Won't Give In (rockin' version!), Locked Out, Six Months In a Leaky Boat, I Got You (Elroy on drums), Better Be Home Soon.


Here's Rene's

And when each band member was asked to provide some material off their "upcoming solo albums!" Tim Smith was caught off guard and played a few notes; Jeremy drummed a little something, but then Paul Stacey blew the doors off!! This was the improvisational song....he let loose with a killer riff, the band jammed along, and then Neil threw in a lyric. Awesome! I think we'll all be buying that solo album soon, then....Kudos to Neil for telling people they could get up if they wanted during I Got You (as if you could do anything else!). That was all it took and people remained standing for the rest of the show (even during the slow numbers such as Irish Heartbeat). Definitely electric in there. DDIO with just Tim & Neil was so freakin' amazing....Neil's guitar work was so tender and elegant. What a beautiful song.
I am amazed that I am finally able to find words to describe the show--it's taken this long to fumble around for them. The one comment I can say to sum it all up is, they proved tonight why they are my favorite musical act for a quarter-century. This one show made the entire trip worthwhile (as if it weren't already). Genuinely nice guys, fantastic musicians, they care for their fans and don't just @($*& on them, pose for piccies and the like when they are tired, and are always gracious. What a pleasure to be a fan of such artists.
Shout out to the fans I met last night, great to meet the Kiwis and Aussies (with a z) and now we all have a place to stay when traveling (try to take me up on it, I am serious, you can go skiing or hiking!!). Thanks Jaffaman (truly a pleasure to meet you) and the rest for your reviews--they are fantastic--was starting to lose my faith in the Kiwi reviewers after being spoiled by the Americans and Europeans, Melbourne shows too. David, hope you did manage to tap your feet a few times ;-)


At this concert a very emotional thing happened to me and I am still not over it. The Finns lost their mother from cancer a few years ago, just as I did. They wrote a song about it, it's called All The Colours, it's a very beautiful song and still hard to listen to sometimes. They almost never play it because at times it's hard for them as well.
The night before I told Tim Smith about this song and the significance it has for me.
And... halfway during the concert, suddenly there it was! I started to get a feeling that this was no coincidence, and I just sat there and couldn't move, tears in my eyes... After the concert Tim told me that he'd requested that just for me. I'll never forget it. Ever. It was such a nice thing to do....

Anyway, back to earth! After the concert we waited at the stage door again, just to say goodbye, and we were there with a few other people, including the inescapable Koji. I'm sure Rene will be happy to tell you all about it, but I never want to see his face again! It was very cold and we had to wait longer than usual. But finally Tim and Marie came out with Elroy, but they clearly were in a hurry so they just let some people take a few pictures and then left. And Peter came over to say goodbye.

Then Jeremy, Paul and Tim appeared and while they were walking to their van Jeremy said: "Suzanne, Rene, we are going to Tabac again, do you want to come with us?" Oh, okay then, if you insist!
So we all piled in the van, but there were too many of us and I was sort of squashed between Tim, Rene and the ceiling! But it was quite comfortable really...
So we left, leaving the others behind......

But this wasn't an afterparty, so no Velvet Room this time. There were also not as many people there, but Neil and Sharon came over for a while. We had a great time again but I had the sense to stay away from the G&T's (this time it was beer, actually) However, another late night, but a nice one too, and interesting conversation.... Great place, Tabac!

The next day Rene had one of her headaches, and since it was such a beautiful day again (but cold), I walked through Auckland all afternoon, soaking up the atmosphere. I'm beginning to realise that I enjoy walking by myself very much, trying to blend in and to look like I belong there. I walked for three hours and ended up sitting on a bench for half an hour, just watching people and enjoying the sunshine. The sun was very warm so I took off my new wintercoat, however as soon as I was in the shadow again I realised how cold it really was... I took a lot of pictures with my new digital camera, which works like a treat.
I feel completely at ease here, and totally at home. Auckland is a city of many nationalities, and I was even able to speak Dutch a few times ! Our hotel receptionist is called Jan and he is from Nijmegen... I'm sure I could live here, but I had the same feeling in Wellington. It feels very European in this part of NZ, a bit like home away from home. So even if it's one hell of a journey, I can't wait to come back here for a much longer visit!

Today is our last day as we'll be leaving tonight for Denver. We originally planned to go for a long drive down south, to Te Awamutu, however Rene is still asleep, we have yet to pack all our stuff and the sky is very overcast (for the first time). So we'll see!

September 2005: Yes, we did go to Te Awamutu! It was another beautiful winter day... Te Awamutu is a very quiet but beautiful small town, it must have been great to grow up there! I took a few pictures, but can´t post them, my computer gets stuck every time I try to open this blog..... But if anyone is interested, just email me!

Awesome Auckland!

My brains are suffering a bit from information overload and lack of sleep (and maybe a little too much alcohol), but I'll try to recreate these last few days in Auckland.
We arrived on August 2, after an uneventful short flight from Welly. Since Rene had managed to buy tickets for the Hamilton show as well (yes, another one!) we decided to rent a car at the airport, drive to our hotel and after checking in, move on to Hamilton, about 135 kilometers from here.

Since these people are driving on the wrong side of the road it took a little bit of getting used to, but Rene drives like a trooper!
Our hotel has the same kind of layout as the Welly one, so that is very nice! It also looks like a pigsty after a few days, I've got no idea where all this stuff is coming from, there´s just so much... anyway.

The drive to Hamilton was a very beautiful one, a very green scenery with skies that reminded me of home. And of course loads and loads of.... cows! We saw NO sheep at all for the first 100 kilometers, very disappointing!

We wanted to be in Hamilton on time, to get a nice drink and relax a little, after our trip. However, after walking around for over an hour we found nothing! Hamilton has a very spooky atmosphere, like it was hit by the plague recently or something, it looks completely deserted. Very scary! But we were looking forward to the concert very much, especially after last night´s concert...

This is the venue:



Here's Rene's concert review:

Just a quick review of the show....Hamilton is a surreal place--from an outsider's point of view. It doesn't seem to have changed much from the 1960s and must be what NZ was like back then (but less industrialized of course!). The Founder's Theatre reminded me of a National Park office or a Science Museum--very unlike the venerable old theatres the Finns have played this tour. However, the inside was very nice and I especially liked the stage and how there was no huge gulf between the guys and the audience--also, the stage wasn't way above the audience so your neck didn't hurt at show's end.The gig began in a staid manner with the audience being the most sedate I have seen!!! Neil said that is a typical Waikato audience, very reserved. Spotted Dick Finn and the Finn's sister Carolyn in the crowd--she really seemed to be enjoying herself and was one of the few people grooving in their seat!Will post complete setlist tomorrow (it's in the car, which I drove on the left side of the road with aplomb, thank you very much!).

A few impressions:

• The rendition of "Nothing Wrong with You" seemed to be the best I've seen lately--just very tight and with a lot of energy.
• Lots of references to boyhood and friends and family, with a dedication to people they miss before the anthem to connectedness for all-time, "Won't Give In."
• A few people dancing in between the levels, after Tim's saying, "You can dance if you want to." After awhile, Neil said, "You can come down front if you'd like." Don't have to ask me twice!!! After that it was a sweaty dance-fest in the front
• 
  Dirty Creature--oh how that song gets better each time I hear it.
• Six Months--with the slow part of the song in double time, for the dancers up front
  Absolutely, positively, KILLER version of I See Red! Including a portion in half-time (is it called that? the opposite of double time) and many stops and starts.
  The set list was altered somewhat with more energetic songs put in the encores, YES!!
• Tim's sending a kiss off to the dancers when leaving the stage (to us, actually!)
  Tim getting so into it during, was it Dirty Creature(?) that he knocked over the mike stand!
• Huge shout-out to Neil for inviting everyone down--makes such a difference in the show when you can actually get up and move around to the music.

All in all a very special show for the hometown crowd.

We drove back to Auckland under a cloudless sky, filled with many stars , none of which I recognise! But is was very beautiful. Since we both have great sense of direction we drove straight back to our hotel and collapsed into bed ....

The next day we walked through Auckland and decided to buy Peter a new Maglite, since the torch he got dated from 1981 and didn't function anymore, and he really needed a good one! Rene had the brilliant idea to have it engraved and it looked beautiful. Peter seemed to be happy with it!


This was the day originally scheduled for our soundcheck so we went into the theater for the first time. It was a very beautiful old theatre and we were very much looking forward to being there for the show. Originally we had tickets for the very last row but Rene, resourceful as ever, had scored better tickets via the internet. We didn't realise it, but they were front row trickets yet again... right in front of Neil! Who, I have to say, looked very pleasantly surprised to see us for the umpteenth time...

There is a review on the forum by a Dean person, but that is way too long to put it up here.

But..... at the end of the show Peter started hinting at an after party at Neil's bar, called Tabac, pictured here:



We went outside to the stage door to wait as usual; here is a photo of that:



Sure enough, Tim Smith invited us over! He waited for us at the general bar, and then led us into the private function in the Velvet Room.

There were about 30 people or so, the crew, the band, Peter Green of course, and Neil and Tim with their wives Sharon and Marie. To be honest, we mostly talked to the band and the crew and exchanged just a few words with Neil and even less with Tim, but Rene spent quite some time chatting to Sharon and Marie. I rediscovered the old fashioned gin and tonic, so at some point things get a little blurry (not too blurry though, I think I still remember everything quite clearly .... )however, after so many years reading all about Tabac and then suddenly finding yourself there with the "family" as Peter put it.... awesome!

I can't quite remember what time we got home, it was very late but I had a great time and met some really interesting people...., and our sightseeing plans for the next day went out of the window.....

Famous People....

After the Night of the Horse we decided we'd use our free day and night seeing the rest of the city. We went to a day spa near our hotel to try to book a massage (for me) and an eye treatment (for Suus) for that evening, On our way we stopped in a little courtyard to take a photo.




Only later did it dawn on me that the name of the pub/restaurant was the Bull and Bear. Appropriate for Timbo!! The day spa didn't have any room for appointments for us so they referred us somewhere else who could fix us up that evening.

Our first stop after that was going to be Te Papa, the national museum of New Zealand. We'd heard that there were some Split Enz costumes in a "New Zealand in the 1970s" exhibit. What a treat it would be to see those!

On the way to Te Papa we took some photos of the harbor in Wellington; what a beautiful city!








The day was sunny and bright so it was hard to stay inside at the museum. I began the museum trip with a phone call home (that cost me around $30) while Suus looked in the museum shop. She found some greeting cards that featured artwork by Robin White, a relative of hers.

We went outside and ate some sandwiches that we had brought from Starbucks. When the ducks spotted us they got excited; they had heard that the sandwiches are good at Starbucks and I'm sure wanted to try some. They weren't going to get a chance, though, because I ate most of mine and Suus was uncharacteristally hungry and finished mine up. We both marveled at how clear the water was:




Here are some shots of the outside of Te Papa:







There were a lot of cool exhibits that we saw. Many, many exhibits on Maori custom and history. Here are a few museum interior shots:


Sorry Rene, I had to delete them, no-one could open this page anymore because there were too many pictures...


Upon emerging from the museum we took even more photos of the skyline which had begun to turn cloudy.







Suus needed a suitcase to take some of her purchases home in so we dropped into a luggage shop to make the purchase. As she was selecting the suitcase, we got into a nice conversation with the shop's proprietor, an older German gentleman. He asked us if we had seen "Lord of the Rings." We truthfully said no. He told us, that's too bad because my son is in that, he plays one of the main characters. His son's name is Karl Urban. The proud papa regaled us with tales of how Karl broke into show business (actually, he used to play the flight attendant on those airline safety films). He gave us a couple color copies of articles featuring his son and posed for a picture with Suus.



After the day's brush with stardom, we took the suitcase back to the room and then called a cab for our spa appointment. The spa manager, Edward, met us at the door and had us relax in the relaxation room where there were teas and comfortable floor pillows. I had an hour long massage (chakra massage) which involved mostly head, neck and shoulders. I must say it felt heavenly when the masseuse stroked my brow and seemed to wipe all the tension away. Suus had an eye treatment but she said later that she thought they were taking her brows off with the wax (the treatment included a brow tidy), We walked out of the spa feeling relaxed and happy; however, when we reached the building's vestibule, we found that we were locked in!! We tried to phone the spa using the intercom but got no answer--what were we going to do?? Before too long we heard Edward and the girls coming and they let us out, confirming that someone had accidentally locked the outside door.

The next day we were scheduled to fly to Auckland then drive to Hamilton for the next show so we tried to get some sleep.

You Can Lead a Horse to Water....

Our second day in Wellington we tried to recover from the excitement of the first concert. We did a little shopping and I picked up some cool boots and a couple of clearance shirt. Suus got two new jackets--she really needed them because she was feeling quite cold down here in the New Zealand winter.

I had picked up a pair of tickets on the trademe site (New Zealand's ebay) for the second Welly show so we were all geared up! We were in front of stage left which is right in front of the Tims (Finn and Smith). We arrived a little later than usual for the show (about 20 minutes before the opening act started) because I had a migraine (as usual--doesn't seem to matter what hemisphere we are in). When we walked into the venue, Peter Green was there with a couple of other Frenz looking for us. Seems tonight would be the night for the horse suit, since in Hamilton a family member wanted to wear it!!

As bad luck would have it, I was wearing a black skirt and my new boots which did have a heel!! Peter said I would have to wear the horse pants and horse shoes (which were huge and hard to maneuver) and then bend over and stretch the horse suit over me. It was a weird feeling but I was not nervous!!

We went up to the balcony where the horse was to appear. The audience was directly behind a curtain so we had to be quiet. Peter's flashlight had broken so he had a little one; I dressed in the dark with the horse suit. He gave me a short primer on what to expect and how to move properly without throwing him off the balcony. Peter was also gracious enough to take pictures; I will forever have a memento of being a member of the Order of the Horse.

The big moment came and we went out to the balcony. When we made our exit, I wiggled the tail and got a couple of wolf whistles from the audience. I hurriedly dressed in the dark again and then Peter escorted us to our seats. Someone was in them so he got an usher to remove them and we settled in for a second show.

Here is Josh's review from the forum:

Really great show tonight guys seemed as into it as they were last night. Crowd maybe in a bit better voice but still wellington sing alongs aren't the best when you compare them to other shows. Another big thank you goes out to pete green i think hes just about the greatest man alive. Thought the horse looked good tonight. Got my setlist thanks to john.
Part of me
Homesick
Message to my Girl
Six months in a leaky boat
A life between us
Wont give in
Suffer Never
Time for a change
There goes God
Angels heap
Nothing wrong with you
Its only natural
Anything can happen

encore 1
Better be home soon
Dirty Creature
I got you

encore 2
Stuff and Nonsense
Weather with you

Big thanks to Rene and Suzanne for there company of these shows and im sure we will meet again on the road
Josh



And here is my little impression:

agree with Josh about the singalongs; have been quite lacking in volume although the quality of the audience vox was good. Tonight's show seemed like it had more energy than last night's. Neil's voice seemed a little strained at times; jeez, the guys have played a lot of shows this month squeezed into a tight time frame...can't help matters in that way at all.

Suffer Never--I am going to admit something that will possibly make seem daft, but that song is not one of my favorites in the Finn repertoire. However, live, it is one of my favorite songs. Neil's guitar work is amazing and they build on it just about every time to a wonderful denouement, lately which has been its segue into "Time for a Change." That was the absolute best tonight. During this song, it was so emotional and raw. I kept thinking about this song in the context in which it was written in Split Enz and it made me cry. During the first part of "There Goes God" I was still wiping my eyes. However, TGG was also really good--and besides the rolling march drum beat in this song and its lyrics it's also not one of my faves. I have always appreciated the lyrics, though, and tonight they really hit home a bit because my own 6-year-old daughter has been asking questions about religion and I am puzzled like Neil when he wrote this song. Just another reason to adore their music--something to appreciate in every single song!!

During Encore 1 it was set up acoustically again and Neil did lead the singalong for BBHS at the end--not robust of course but still respectable. I haven't heard the full version of this yet in concert until tonight and fully expected to cry, but didn't. BBHS is probably the CH song that most hits home for me because of past situations in my life and strikes a chord deep in my heart every time I hear it. To be feet away from Neil playing it on the piano does make it resonate all the more.

Dirty Creature is always a treat to hear and this time it started with Tim on the mini-drum kit but then he got up halfway through and the band joined them again which allowed him to let loose in his signature manner. God, I love this song, live, on vinyl, and on video!!! Any way I can get it. Why oh why did the single go nowhere in America??? Dumb question with no answer except the usual one about the American music taste which is a very bad joke.

Stuff 'n' Nonsense was absolutely brilliant and chilling. Any song from Frenzy is automatically tops in my book to hear live or any other way, and I've been wishing for this song for so long. Could have heard a pin drop during the number--it was so beautiful.

Random notes--Jeremy drums his ass off. He and Paul really worked together for atmosphere during Stuff n Nonsense--sounded fantastic! Spotted Marie grooving offstage right....she really gets into the music and that is so great to see! What a supportive partner she is and a lovely woman. Peter Green--goes without saying, what a prince, thanks heaps for everything, you do the best job and that's no suckup--I'm no good at that anyway. The crowd at the NZ shows has been skewed toward more age brackets than I've seen elsewhere especially the older ones. It's so heartening to see people in their sixties dancing their butts off.

Am proud to have been one of the folks at the show who decided to get off my spine and dance during the encores. Who can sit down during I Got You anyhow???

Sorry so long and rambling but it's late and once the stream of consciousness starts it's hard to stop. Hope to hear more reviews of the Welly shows.

After the show we waited by the stage door and Neil came out first. He walked out seeming to be looking for me, and Peter pointed me out. He walked right up to me with a look of utmost respect in his eyes, and sincerely thanked me for the books. He said he hadn't gotten a chance to look over every last detail but he is sure he would and just thought it was such a nice souvenir of the mini-tour of Europe! I was just so thrilled to see a look of respect in his eyes (instead of abject fear!!) and he is the nicest guy!

Tim Smith came up and kissed me on the cheek--he said he was overwhelmed by the book and thought it was so wonderful that people were so into the band and the music. He of course remembered us from the conversations in Cork and Dublin and probably helped convince Tim Finn that I should be in the horse suit as well.

Tim Finn came out and while he was signing something for someone I went up to Marie Finn, introduced myself and told her I did the books. She said they were fantastic and then called to Tim, told him I did them, and he said, "Yeah, thanks....they're great!!" in his Kiwi accent. I spoke with the Staceys briefly as well.

We walked back to the hotel, and during the walk it dawned on me that I actually had worn the same horse pants that Tim & Neil wear during the Edible Flowers video! That is SO cool there just aren't words for it....

More tomorrow about our last day in Welly, our visit to Te Papa museum and our celebrity moment in Wellington!

Bottom of the world....

So, we arrived! Suus said it wasn't so bad and she expected it to be much worse and that we'd be more tired than we were (and that's a quote, folks!). We actually slept for about 7 hours on the plane which was amazing. Air New Zealand has a 34" seat pitch in the economy section of their "Pacific Class," and in addition, we had the back two seats of the plane in our own row and within easy reach of 6 bathrooms, which was handy. We talked a bit and Suus saw the scrapbook for the first time and she said she was impressed and that it looked more professional than she could have imagined. I was happy that she felt that way because of the fact that it took up almost my entire July of 2005 to complete!! I had high hopes that the books would be appreciated by the band and it was my little gift back to them for bringing me so much musical pleasure and inspiration for 25 years.

On the flight to NZ, I realized I had left my American Express card in the LAX airport somewhere. I managed to beat back visions of some swarthy character using my card all over the Greater LA Basin and just convinced myself I couldn't do anything about it at this very moment.

When we arrived in Wellington we took a cab to our hotel, which was awesome. The City Life Hotel is like a corporate apartment of sorts. We each had a separate bedroom and bathroom; a common living area and kitchen completed the picture. There was a large round table handy for eating and leaving junk on.

We got our bearings by getting a map from the hotel so that we could find our way to a few things we wanted to do (such as, uh, see a Finn show!). On our way to the venue we took a few shots of cool buildings:



Here is a shot of the venue:



We went to the venue to pick up our tickets for the Welly shows; however we found out that Suus had somehow been refunded for the second show and we had no tickets!! This was quickly remedied when the man explained that the promoter had just released several seats and we snapped up front row tickets, YEAH!! We then proceeded to hang around till we could sell the other pair of tickets for the first night that we had accidentally bought online. We got face value from a couple that was headed to the box office to buy nonexistent tickets.

When we got back to the hotel we checked our email and such, then we got dressed and left for the soundcheck. We weren't scheduled to go on said event, but I had hauled these six scrapbooks all the way across the earth (literally) and I didn't want to do it anymore!! Also I was excited for the band to finally get them since the original batch of 7 I sent out (at a cost of $116 US no less) never even got there!

We showed up in the light rain to wait for Peter at the back entrance where he said the soundcheck would be for the folks who would be able to go. After about 20 minutes he showed up and knew immediately who we were almost as if he was expecting us to be there! He took the books and admitted that his curiousity was piqued about what they could be about. He then asked us if we'd like to go to the soundcheck since there were only three others going. Duh, dumb question! Um, no, I have other plans....I was going to count the ferns in the pattern on the hotel room chairs, sorry, maybe next time!

We went next door for a beer with Josh, an 18 year old guy from the forum. We had a drink and made some small talk then headed off to the back door again. Peter ushered us in quietly and we were treated to four songs in sound check which included Pineapple Head and Time for a Change (WOWIE ZOWIE!!). I chatted a bit with Simon, an Auckland native who was down visiting his brother and catching a Finn show. Peter accused me of showing bra strap to entice the guys....while I claimed wardrobe malfunction (actually it was just forgetting to pack the right bra!!).

After soundcheck Peter met us for coffee at Starbuck's across the street and after that we had some quick "food court" food and headed to the concert again.

By this time Suus and I needed a drink so we had one in the lobby then they shut the doors so we missed the Phoenix Foundation. Our seats were in row J so not like it was in Europe, but we still were eager with anticipation. The pantomime horse came out and did its thing. We were really nervous because Peter had intimated that we might get some kind of dedication as a thanks for the books, but this didn't happen (which was just as well because, oh, how embarrassing!!).

My concert review can be seen here:

After the show we went to the stage door but there was a private afterparty going on. Guests included Peter Jackson and Jack Black, of whom Peter Green was a big fan. Peter said that the band really loved the books; Tim and Marie Finn especially seemed impressed, he said. He also said that the band thought I should be the back half of the pantomime horse used in the Edible Flowers video! This was to happen in Hamilton so I still had a couple of days to think about it. Also, he said he could arrange to get us better tickets for the Auckland show where we had row ZZ.

We headed home exhausted, and dropped right off to sleep.....