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Crowded House have an “ace up their sleeve” for the wet, final night of a music festival. They can cheer up the crowd by opening their set with a singalong about the weather.

And so with a rousing rendition of Weather With You led by Neil Finn, Crowded House pulled the audience out of any depression brought on by damp socks and muddy trousers, and provided a great closing act of Cornbury. (The song was filmed by salsbury15 and posted on YouTube.)

“The sound of Te Awamutu had a truly sacred ring…”

In contrast to Paul Simon the night before, Crowded House was definitely there to give the people a good time. Neil Finn knows how to create an experience of “the moment” that goes beyond just hearing all the hits on a rainy Sunday evening.

At one point, a giant soap bubble drifted across the stage, and Neil stopped the band mid-song, saying “Oh wow, check out that bubble!”. And 7,000 people looked up and watched a bubble float above their heads. You had to be there.

More Crowded House fun was had a week earlier at Glastonbury, (but without the rain). Watch the band lead tens of thousands in what was likely the best public singing of the festival. And the best mexican wave…

So yeah, Crowded House played all the favourites: Don’t Dream It’s Over, Four Seasons in One Day, World Where You Live, Distant Sun, Fall At Your Feet… they are unashamedly a popular band gathered around an expert writer of popular music. No pretension, just great songs and good times.

A welcome addition to the band for their 2008 summer tour of Europe is Don McGlashan, who augmented the music with a menagerie of instruments including ukulele, euphonium, toy piano and pocket trumpet.

The few kiwis in the crowd were hoping that Don would step up to the front with his guitar for a Mutton Birds or Front Lawn number, but it never happened. But perhaps there is no more typical Don McGlashan performance than to stand at the back of the band, tinkling on a glockenspiel on someone else’s songs…