Between his flip patter and the plastic ducks that lined the Bowery Ballroom stage Tuesday, it was hard to believe Neil Finn meant what he sang.
The Crowded House frontman was affable enough, but, at 53, he lacks the pure rock energy he once had. The band’s reluctance to let go for a two-hour show made a giant ’80s band seem smaller than its reputation for crafting thoughtful, beautiful songs.
Still, there were moments — not enough, though — when their younger, better selves emerged, mostly in songs with extended psychedelic-rock jams. Only then did the foursome let itself get lost in the music.
The crowd seemed to sense it, too. During many of the jam-free, soft-rock ballads — the times when the band hardly strayed from their recordings — the audience chatter was nearly as loud as the music.
Even so, the loyal, sometimes boisterous fans seemed to appreciate the band’s struggle to make the lyrics of its new song, “Twice If You’re Lucky,” come true. When Finn sang it, he projected a real, heartfelt desire to be a winner once more.
The band’s past may be ancient rock history, but it still cast a shadow on the show. The old songs in the set staked claim to the band’s climb to the top of the international pop world in the mid-’80s, only for it to disband in ’96.
The newer material from a 2007 CD and last week’s release, “Intriguer,” made you recall their decade-long silence. And seeing Mark Sherrod on drums — he replaced Paul Hester a few years ago, after Hester’s suicide — reminded you that this wasn’t the same Crowded House it used to be.
Still, the fans came, literally crowding the house. Some stood in the two exit foyers because there was no room on the main floor.
They didn’t seem to mind that there were so many deep-in-the-vault songs that Finn apologized for “the absence of hits.” Yet when the group played a chestnut like “Four Seasons in One Day” or the encore song, “Weather With You,” band and fans connected.
That bond was audible during both songs, when the crowded house turned into a choir, singing the chorus as if they were in church.