Neil Finn Brings 7 Worlds Collide to London Stage

Eight years ago, the original incarnation of 7 Worlds Collide played a string of five gigs in Auckland, New Zealand, with Crowded House's Neil Finn hosting the likes of Radiohead's Ed O'Brien and Phil Selway, the Smiths' Johnny Marr and Pearl Jam's Eddie Vedder.

On Tuesday night, it was the turn of 7 Worlds Collide Mark II to take to the stage on the other side of the world in London's Camden Town, with some of the lineup that played New Zealand in January of this year -- and also recorded an album.

Finn fronted a five-piece band which numbered Selway and O'Brien and Wilco's Glenn Kotche and John Stirratt, a fraction of the many-headed ensemble which recorded 'The Sun Came Out' over a Kiwi summer at the beginning of the year.

A densely-packed Dingwalls saw the five-strong 7 Worlds Collide play a glorious set, with Finn kicking things off with Crowded House classic 'Distant Sun' before launching into 'Too Blue,' a track co-written with Johnny Marr.

Finn and co could probably have filled a venue three or four times the size of the relatively-cosy Dingwalls -- after all, Wilco and Radiohead aren't without the odd fan or two, and Finn's fanbase is remarkably loyal. But the intimate atmosphere suited the evening's loose-limbed charm."Whatever happens we can go back to our day jobs. They're pretty good day jobs," Finn joked at one point.

The show's peaks included Phil Selway taking to the mic for not one but two songs featured on the record -- 'The Witching Hour' and 'The Ties That Bind Us.' The latter was a haunting, downbeat entreat that showed just what a fine singer the Radiohead drummer is.

The evening's most energetic track, 'All Comedians Suffer', saw O'Brien stab frenetically at his guitar, giving the song a hint of the discordant menace of Radiohead. And the Finn-led trawl through 'You Never Know', a song Wilco recorded for the album and then also released on their recent LP, was superb, an irresistible shuffle bedecked with angelic harmonies.

Musical guests included the husband of 7 Worlds Collide-collaborator K T Tunstall and film director Garth Jennings ('The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy,' 'Son of Rambow'), who played ukulele on a version of the Beatles' 'Something'.

Jennings told Spinner he'd been given the instrument as a present and had been taught the song by O'Brien and Finn on a recent holiday -- and had been persuaded to get up on stage to play it. In an evening of warm, big-hearted musical collaboration, it made perfect sense.