It's Only Natural...

...that it was a brilliant, brilliant show. I'm referring to the Finn Brothers' gig, of course, which I just got home from. I will do a better lowdown of the show this time round, 'cos I didn't do so for the last one. Also, I find that after being a self-proclaimed fan for exactly a year now, I'm in a better position to actually write about the perfromance, although I must admit I am actually listening to Keane (which has been on hevay rotation in my days now) instead of the Finns (I know I should) as I am writing.

It was done at the Hamer Hall (Art Centre) as opposed to The Palais. All in all, it was definitely a more intimate and cosy setting which is just about perfect for diehard fans. Even the selection of songs for the evening was strictly for fans only, well, sort of. A major part of the evening was covered by slow to mid-tempo numbers. They did most of the materials from the latest Finn Brothers album, and hardly any of the expected radio-friendly/commercial hits recorded during the Crowded House era, except of course the obligatory and sure-shot crowd faves like Weather With You, Locked Out, It's Only Natural and Four Seasons In One Day. I s'pose it's completely fine by me, as it is the Finn Brothers' concert afterall, and I wouldn't want to see them milking out of their past hits too much (although I must admit I was secretly hoping for more in a way). Neil's (pictured above) voice is as impeccable as ever and his stage antics are equally captivating, which goes to show that age is really nothing but a silly number. Tim was on his overly happy feet again prancing around and doing his signature weird dance moves. The acoutics were pretty fantastic and they didn't drown out the singing voices one bit. Of course, it can't be that everything was perfect. Some of my gripes include not-so-spectacular display of stage lightings (creating too much of a silhouette and occasional shooting of strong lights directly into eyes of audience and all) and the lack of audience participation and interaction (a tad more verbal fillers in between songs would have been great). Also, with all due respect to Tim as a great songwriter and performer, I reckon they shouldn't indulge in him in terms of vocal works (sorry, fans of Split Enz). Still, maybe this is going to be a biased statement, I think they hit just the right note (pardon the pun) with old and new fans alike, and I am sure that the brothers will continue to enjoy sell-out concerts in the years to come. At least I know I will be there, as long as I am still in this part of the world (or in any city they might be performing in).

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The previous Finn Brothers' I attended was back in November last year, so it has been a solid eight months already. Before, as well as throughout the evening, I can't help but look back and think about the period between these two events, assisted by songs I know so well, which of course, evoke much emotions all the time. So what about it? Other than being in a better position as an avid fan of the Finns now, I am also in a better position in life. I am definitely much more comfortable under my skin and have established a greater degree of equilibrium with my surroundings, be it work, people or this city that I live in. On the health front, my skin has healed up and I have put on much more weight now (which, funnily, is a good thing for me). I have ditched those silly, thrashy streetwear and that crazy long-ish hairstyle of mine and have since gotten much compliments for it (alright, I didn't mean to sound smug and vain here, again). I s'pose I was a little lost last year, a totally overgrown kid who thinks he can do whatever he wants with no consequences to face up to at all. I am not gonna go into details on that, as I would have probably gone over this topic like fifty times already, just here alone. The bottomline is, I am actually enjoying and feeling more for what I am doing nowadays, instead of just crusing along and getting all screwed with silly people and too much booze.

Of course, having said all that, I still feel the downs every now and then and the feeling of endlessness still plagues me sometimes. I still get caught up with human emotions and relationships and all the pain and sorrow that we, as human beings, can never escape from. It's a matter of control and moderation I s'pose (maybe that's one of the reasons why I have given up the ticket for tomorrow evening and the reluctance to head up to Anakie this weekend). Yes, easier said than done, and we always say we are trying, don't we? Well, I hope I can follow through with whatever major or minute things I have promised myself. Afterall, I don't want to be listening to the same songs, reading the same books and watching the same movies (which I no doubt will) at different stages of my life but still get caught up with the same set of issues and emotions. I want to be able to experience all these constant things (Finn, Mraz, Merchant, Mariah, Lifehouse, Salinger, Dahl, Hemingway and my top 6 films of all time) with different perceptions and feelings. That will provide the inspirations and variations and excitement that are so essential for me not to feel that I am standing in the same spot year after year. I need to keep a set of constant things that I hold so close to myself in order to feel and measure the forward distance I have made in life.