They’re the original Antipodean art-rockers. And 50 years later, Split Enz are still the best example of how colourful and creative our Kiwi neighbours are. 

Long before Neil Finn found greater success still with Crowded House in a more conventional Oz-rock guise, Auckland’s most flamboyant export produced some of his best-loved songs. Together with brother Tim Finn, they put Kiwi culture on the map in the mid-70s. 

On their first reunion tour in nearly two decades, the Enz (their name itself a play on their NZ roots) were as bright and breathtaking as ever. Never afraid to light up the stage with their oddball fashion choices and eccentric hairstyles, on Friday they had all the bells and whistles you’d expect from a legendary stadium act. 

The visuals were astounding. From the opening rush of Shark Attack and History Never Repeats, it was clear this was a no-expense-spared production, and on the off chance it’s their last visit (let’s hope not), they sparkled more brilliantly than ever. 

Led by percussionist and ‘spoon-man’ Noel Crombie’s creative flair for costume, make-up and video, the wild ruins of the set for Nobody Takes Me Seriously evolved into some kind of magical faraway tree during Give It a Whirl and One Step Ahead, the latter an enormous 1981 highlight and preview of the rich vein of songwriting Neil was about to mine with Crowded House. 

While the enviable array of hits was a constant, instrumentals also made for some fantastical breaks in transmission. Double Happy saw a fashion parade of famous Split Enz costumes brighten the big screens in a colourful high point, while keyboardist Eddie Rayner’s Pioneer was a giddy psychedelic epic, elongated and accompanied by wondrous mirrorball lighting. 

If Tim’s balladry on Stuff and Nonsense and, later, I Hope I Never in the encore showed his voice could get a touch shaky across two hours, younger brother Neil had no such problems on his equally moving Message to My Girl, which soared memorably. 

^{Images by Linda Dunjey.}

Nonetheless, it was the older brother’s Six Months in a Leaky Boat that proved the ultimate highlight, its anthemic wordplay and epic outro a thing of widescreen beauty. Segueing into the night’s finale of monster hits I Got You and I See Red had the ageing crowd on their feet and thinking it had been 19 years too long since we’d seen their like. 

Opening the night were a pair of the Finn brothers’ biggest fans in Vika and Linda Bull. Last in these parts performing with Crowded House and Mark Seymour last December, they may be frequent visitors but have rarely been afforded this kind of arena set-up for their own show. 

^{Vika and Linda Bull opening for Split Enz. Image by Linda Dunjey.}

By the night’s end a couple of hours later, that didn’t even feel like a stretch.