A HOLY PLACE

These are nightmare times.

So it must be something special that sends me back to the blog after...well, it's been awhile.

I guess I just needed a place to (virtually) share the enormous grin that I have been unable to shake since my date with the reunited CROWDED HOUSE two weeks ago. What pure joy. Really. If you don't believe me, or you want details, see for yourself.

There are a million reasons to love this band, and I am happy to report that they really haven't lost any of their magic since my last encounter with them 13 years ago in Chicago. On a peculiarly chilly August night in Philadelphia, Neil, Nick, Mark, Matt and Liam took us all to that special, holy place that only great live music can.

If you haven't heard the new record, give it a try. If you want to hear endless new variations on SOMETHING SO STRONG, it might not be for you. But Neil and Co. suffered a devasating loss with the suicide of Paul Hester two-plus years ago, and quite frankly, I find the record's somewhat restrained, mournful atmosphere to be both approrpriate and breathtaking.

I could write for days about the genius of Neil Finn, but I'll stop here for the moment. Who knows: now that the inspiration has come, there might actually be more to follow.