Finn extravaganza a team effort

By RUSSELL BAILLIE

Here's another reason Neil Finn's new album is called One Nil - he's turned his solo career into a team effort.

An international one at that, as last night's glorious kick-off to his five-night, unique-to-Auckland season at the St James showed.

In a similar spirit to his recent tour down country, which roped in local amateur enthusiasts to play his backing band, Finn has recruited a squad from all over.

This one is the big league, a Super Six including members of three of the most important American and English rock bands of the past 15 years.

It included Eddie Vedder - frontman of American rock gods Pearl Jam - who saved his run until late in the two-hour show. He opened with a surprisingly sensitive version of old Split Enz ballad Stuff and Nonsense and later fronted surprise guests betchadupa - the band of Neil Finn's son, Liam - on a stonking version of History Never Repeats.

Also among the ring-ins were Radiohead's Ed O'Brien (the lanky guitarist helping turn Suffer Never into a thrilling guitar boilover) and Phil Selway (on no-nonsense drums).

Stage left was Johnny Marr (the onetime Smiths guitarist curiously looking like Neil Finn in a Liam Gallagher wig), who contributed some lovely six-string jangle, harmonica and let the Smiths song There Is A Light That Never Goes Out be resurrected with Neil Finn on lead vocals.

Less well-known, but no less valuable, were Sebastian Steinberg (on electric and double bass) and Lisa Germano, who, when she wasn't playing anything else (violin, keyboards, guitar), offered gorgeous harmonies to the likes of Finn's Turn and Run and sang her own haunting number (possible titled) Cry Cry Wolf.

Of the imports in this team, she wins the most valuable player award.

The show largely eschewed a comfy wander down a musical memory lane for a cohesive - in Finn's own words - "extravaganza," one which belied the hasty four days of rehearsal the unnamed supergroup (The InternatioNeils?) had after their arrival in Auckland, and one which brought the new songs of One Nil to vivid life.

And one with plenty of sideshow fun - like the experimental noise fest that Finn and O'Brien indulged themselves in with their footpedals (something off that next difficult Radiohead album perhaps?) - but just enough to play to the gallery wanting something familiar, whether it was a slow-fused Private Universe or a rockin' I Got You in the closing overs.

It's going to be quite a season. It appears from their first match, Finn and team are on top of their game.