The current version of Crowded House have been playing together for over three years now, and are starting to feel and perform like a genuine band of brothers (of which there are actually two, plus their father) comparable with the classic iteration of the late 80s and early 90s.

That line-up of Neil Finn, Nick Seymour and the late Paul Hester – augmented by multi-instrumentalist Mark Hart – had a chemistry that not only enabled them to connect with audiences but made every show unique as they made jokes, took requests, went off on tangents and generally had as good a time as the punters.

Recreating that vibe hasn’t been easy – the newer members, which include Finn’s sons Liam (guitar) and Elroy (drums) can’t instantly turn their hands to unscripted covers and off-the-cuff deep cuts as easily as their predecessors – but two tours down the line there’s a relaxed atmosphere and feelgood factor that’s starting to come close to the glory days. Not only is the good-humoured camaraderie and family dynamic evident, but the setlist – inevitably geared towards casual fans due to the arena venues they’re playing – contains a few curve balls to keep the devotees happy, and audience participation and requests are increasingly encouraged too.

There were no paper planes at this gig, but the crowd chose Pineapple Head over Sister Madly – although snippets of the latter turned up twice elsewhere – and terrific readings of Whispers and Moans, Either Side Of The World and Black And White Boy were interspersed alongside bona fide classics such as Weather With You, Fall At Your Feet, Don’t Dream It’s Over and Distant Sun. A half-dozen tracks from latest album Gravity Stairs was perhaps a couple too many, but all sounded stronger in the live environment, and All That I Can Ever Own, The Howl and Some Greater Plan (For Claire) could arguably become future mainstays.

For now the highlight was a mid-set triple salvo of Fingers Of Love, When You Come and Private Universe, all of which mixed Finn’s typically magnificent melodies with wonderfully trippy psychedelia to stunning effect. They also provided a platform for Liam Finn to show off his guitar shredding skills, which drew approving glances from his ever-youthful father, who not only still looks and sings as great as ever, but plays a mean guitar himself, given half a chance. These days he seems just as happy to watch his sons perform though, and it was impossible not to get swept up in the joy of the whole endeavour, not least when the Finn family were sharing vocal harmonies.

With new music in the offing and Finn providing a hand signal for the audience to employ the next time the band are in Birmingham, it looks like the revitalised act will be continuing into a fifth decade, lending the singalong finale of Better Be Home Soon an air of hope that we’ll be seeing them again (hold the note) “sooooooooon”.

5 stars

Reviewed by Steve Adams at Utilita Arena Birmingham on 17 October.