Forever Enz: Split Enz Wellington 2026

May 7
5 min read

Updated: Jun 13

Split Enz

Forever Enz Tour

TSB Arena, Wellington

6th May 2026

This is going to be a concert review, Gemini Rose style.

First off, it’s me, so there’ll be a verging on unbearable overdose of backstory and pre-amble - I do love a good yarn.

Secondly, I’ve never reviewed a concert before, so if you’re after a technical, polished Rolling Stone style write up I fear you may be disappointed.

If you’re after a vibes based account though, I Got You.

(Ba dum tss)

Split Enz are one of my all time favourite bands and have been since I was in my early teens. I was pissing around on MSN Messenger of a night as my Mum washed the dishes in the kitchen. She had the radio on, as she often did when working in the kitchen.

The song that was playing was ethereal, otherworldly. What was this cosmic awesomeness?!

I’d just gotten into the music of The Beatles, too, and yet still, I’d never heard anything quite like what was emanating from the kitchen. No Shazam in those days, no humming into a smartphone to easily solve the conundrum: Who’s the band? What’s the song? All I knew was that I wanted to listen to it again and again.

Would my Mum know? Maybe, maybe not, because the radio volume wasn’t cranked up in this instance. That honour was only bestowed upon the likes of Bon Jovi, Guns n Roses, Bruce Springsteen and such.

I went to the kitchen door and hovered, still entranced but now also anxious that the radio host wouldn’t bother stating who it was, or that my Mum would yell at me for disturbing her dishwashing, or that the song would immediately transition to a radio commercial: “Gotta get a garage, gotta get a gottage. Gotta get a skyyy-liiine.”

“That was Split Enz with Poor Boy”, declared the radio host.

Phew.

I boosted back to the computer. BOOSTED I tell you. Limewire was fired up, search terms inputted, and the mp3 download commenced over Xtra’s trusty 56k dialup service. The fear of viruses? Ha - come at me, bro, I had an iMac. Will the song be…the song, though? And will it be 192kbps as promised, or a nasty 128? Oh the suspense of it all.

I only had to wait an hour or two to find out!

The song finally downloaded. It was the right one, and on that night over 20 years ago I became a Split Enz fan.

My teenage years went on and Split Enz remained in my rotation as one of my all time favourite bands, alongside The Beatles, Pet Shop Boys, and The Doors. (I didn’t discover Led Zeppelin until my early twenties).

In my late teens a dear friend took me on what I called a Split Enz Pilgrimage - a road trip from Palmerston North to Te Awamutu, birthplace of the Finn brothers. I saw the handwritten lyrics to my favourite Split Enz song, Poor Boy, at the Te Awamutu Museum. Walking through the rural town I happened upon a business called Finn and Partners, some sort of accountancy firm. Because of the name Finn, I ventured inside, spoke to a lovely (albeit bemused) chap who kindly gave me a Finn and Partners pen. Good times, and again, thank you for the pen.

The years went on and on. In 2018 I jumped up and down with my air guitar while listening to I See Red in my hotel room in London. And in lockdown, the music of Split Enz, among others, made for great company as I went on my daily walks.

When I read Split Enz would be getting together and playing at a festival in Christchurch, Electric Avenue, naturally I was tempted to go. But, something something cost of living crisis…flights, transport, accommodation, tickets…need I go on? I could’ve gone, but the extra expense as it wasn’t local, and the constant fear of spending heaps of money and then “suddenly something coming up”…y’know how it is.

Their performance at Electric Avenue went down a treat and not long after, Split Enz announced they’d be putting on a few shows around the country, including Wellington.

Wellington you say? Local? That I can do.

And not only that - I could simply hop on a bus to get there, maybe even sup a cheeky pre-show Pilsner somewhere, maybe even buy some merch.

Tickets were purchased as soon as they became available. This concert was something to look forward to!

The night arrived and I made my way to my seat. Crowd wise, it was all sorts - fans old and new. Put it this way - I certainly wasn’t the only audience member that didn’t yet qualify for a super gold card. After being humbled at Kraftwerk a few years earlier, I’d learned my lesson and knew better than to assume anything about the crowd demographic at a concert.

Split Enz came on and instantly the TSB Arena turned into a time machine, song after song, memory after memory. Once again I was at my childhood home in Palmy discovering their music for the first time. Once again I was a passenger princess on the way to Te Awamutu. Once again I was in London, belting out I See Red in the mirror on the air guitar that could.

The visuals throughout the night were vibrant, adding a layer of colour and character to a band that has always understood the power of presentation. The suits were a great idea, Noel Crombie.

The screens, lighting and stage design all helped bring the songs to life for sure, but for me, the real magic was in the music itself. The wonderful, wonderful music. And that’s the thing about Split Enz: beneath the costumes and theatrical flair are songs of genuine depth and brilliance.

Songs that mean something to a helluva lot of us.

I guess this is the part where I mention the atmosphere, maybe chucking in words like "electric", "boisterous", "high energy". It wasn't. At least, not to start with.

You see, this wasn’t just any old concert. It was indeed a celebration of one of New Zealand’s most beloved bands, and yet, at the same time, underneath the noise, there was a heavy sense of poignancy in the air.

It was the feeling that this may well have been the last time many of us would see Split Enz take the stage together.

This may have been the reason why it seemed, at least from where I was, that it took a while for the crowd to get really fired up. It wasn’t until Hard Act To Follow that everyone really let loose, and then by Six Months In A Leaky Boat it was pure boisterous jubilation. The celebratory part of the evening had finally commenced.

During the I See Red guitar solo, there was nothing for it - I just had to do it, I had to take my moment - I rocked out to my air guitar. I really fucken went for it, too. A moment I’ll never forget!

History may never repeat, but music does: every time a song carries you back to who you were, where you were, and reminds you of who you’ve become. For one truly spellbinding night in Wellington, Split Enz did exactly that for me.

And if this is the last time for them…what a way to go out. Bravo, bravo!

Forever Enz!