Neil Finn had his work cut out for him on Monday night during a sold-out show at The Phoenix.

First and foremost was the near-impossible task of trying to top his outstanding performance at the Palais Royale last July -- the oppressive, sweltering heat of that particular summer evening notwithstanding.

"It was the hottest gig I've ever done in my life," remembered Finn, formerly of Crowded House and Split Enz, on Monday night.

Then there were those insanely drunken fans at the Phoenix -- the only ones to respond to an invitation to dance on stage alongside Finn and his band over the course of two hours and 15 minutes.

One fellow, dancing with two girls, immediately dropped his pants. A second threesome featured one girl undoing the shirt of her male companion while another girl performed some Brass Rail-worthy moves before collapsing in a heap with one leg remaining up in the air.

"There's a sex thing going on here," commented Finn, who's arguably written some of the greatest melodic pop music of the last few decades.

Then there was a big fellow from Wales who was celebrating his birthday with plenty of lager and a solo spin on stage. The Welshman opted out of dancing and instead sang a cappella version of a song whose lyrics and melody were unrecognizable. (This fan was later seen being forcibly removed from the Phoenix's upstairs catwalk by four unhappy looking bouncers.)

Needless to say, all of this activity -- including an order from Finn to remove all of the banners promoting radio station 102.1 The Edge and Mastercard -- led to a fun, loose, more jam-oriented and experimental evening of music.

Crowded House and Split Enz hits were not big on the agenda although Weather With You, Don't Dream It's Over, and I Got You did make appearances during the encores, as did a cover of The Smiths' There Is A Light That Never Goes Out.

More typical was when Finn asked his band members to play the first riffs they had ever learned on their respective instruments.

When Steinberg launched into The Beatles' Daytripper, the song got almost a full runthrough.

Finn even tried out some new material -- getting the crowd to hum along on the chorus -- with his second solo album, the excellent One All, now several years old. (It was released in North America only last year. )

Finn's voice, meanwhile, was in its usual gorgeous state even if his microphone sounded a bit hot during the first couple of songs.

And sadly missing in action was pianist-violin player-vocalist Lisa Germano, who performed with Finn at the Palais Royale. Her sweet harmonies were handled by Monday night's opening act Rhett Miller on the One All standout, Anytime.