These touring musicians may leave their hotel rooms cleaner than they were when they checked in, but they sure know how to rock.

One octogenarian member of the troop sums it up by saying the genre has grown on him "like a fungus". And now a bunch of his contemporaries from Massachusetts - plus five Kiwi additions - are waggling their fingers, yelping into the microphone and turning the Civic's stage into an almost-moshpit.

Members of The Young @ Heart Chorus span an age range from 73 to 89, and a vocal range from whistling whisper to soulful bellow.

Some can dance like Michael Jackson while others rely on walking sticks to stand.

And some can't stand the whole time, so they sit.

But despite being at varying points in the ageing process, they are a united front, celebrating being Forever Young, and lapping up every day they have before they leave for the place Talking Heads lyric's refer to in Heaven.

Never have the lyrics "All we have is now" and "the future is certain" been so poignant.

Steve Martin gets the party started, leading the chorus in Sonic Youth's Schizophrenia, barking and gruffly warbling in all the right places Other rowdy hits - so incongruous they are hilarious - include The Ramones' I Want to Be Sedated, Purple Haze by Jimi Hendrix and Lou Reed's Walk On the Wild Side.

Anyone who has seen the much-celebrated 2007 documentary has some idea of how much work the choir puts into mastering a song.

The fact they took the time to learn the difficult lyrics to a medley of some of New Zealand's most iconic songs met with great whoops from the audience - especially as they have chosen to mash Flight of the Conchord's Business Time into I See Red, Ten Guitars, Pokarekare Ana and Poi E.

It's topped off with Don't Dream It's Over in the encore and a nod to the late Pauly Fuemana with How Bizarre.

The audience doesn't want it to be over, but it's time for bed, the singers seem to say, rubbing their backs after taking the final bow.

Who: The Young @ Heart Chorus

Where: The Civic Theatre, Auckland.

When: Last night.

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