Live at Spark Arena
24 April 2025
Live Review by Music Journalist: Paul Marshall
Sailing in the City of Sails: Christopher Cross Sets the Tone for a Night of Yacht Rock.
It’s a cool autumn night in Auckland, and under the soft lights of Spark Arena, nostalgia has never sounded so damn smooth. The crowd salt-and-pepper beards, vintage tees, and a sea of retro tour jackets settled in early, and they were rewarded handsomely. Because before Toto could even whisper the word “Africa,” Christopher Cross took the stage and turned the clock back to 1980 with a performance that was nothing short of timeless.
Cross, the velvet-voiced Texan behind one of the softest soft rock eras known to man, opened for Toto on their Auckland stop and proved that pairing these two acts is the kind of booking magic you’d expect from a deluxe box set fantasy tour. No pyro, no dancers just pristine musicianship, buttery vocals, and melodies that felt like a warm yacht breeze across the Waitematā.
Cross took to the stage dressed in a striking purple suit, complete with a matching fedora. He was backed by a tight band, along with three female backing vocalists dressed head-to-toe in green a vibrant contrast to Cross’s purple ensemble.
Cross opened with the silky-smooth “All Right,” before gliding into the wistful shimmer of “Never Be The Same.” But it was “Sailing” that brought the house to stillness phones up, tears maybe down. There’s something poetic about hearing one of the earliest digitally recorded chart-toppers (cut on the revolutionary 3M Digital Recording System, no less) in a room full of analog souls. Released as a single back on 27 May 1980 somewhat improbably as the eighth track on his debut album “Sailing” hit with the kind of emotional resonance that makes you forget you’re in a concrete bowl downtown.
Midway through his set Cross encounters a few technical hiccups, Cross swapped his electric guitar for an acoustic, which seemed to be functioning properly. The issue appeared to be with the electric guitar’s wireless pack, likely not charged correctly possibly due to the voltage difference between the US and New Zealand.
There’s an elegance to Christopher Cross’ presence. He doesn’t command the stage so much as he glides through it. His voice still uncannily pure floats like a silk scarf caught in a breeze, and the audience leaned in with reverence. No gimmicks, no flash just melody, memory, and that rarest of concert treasures: sincerity.
As the night built toward its finale with “Ride Like the Wind,” the crowd finally rose to their feet, flooding the aisles. But just as the energy peaked, an overzealous security guard still seated started prodding me near the groin to tell me I couldn’t take photos. An odd interaction followed, especially considering I was surrounded by hundreds of fans openly filming and snapping pictures. Apparently, this came down to some bizarre directive from their team leader, and for whatever reason, I got singled out. Go figure.
For the uninitiated, Cross’s debut self-titled album from 1979 is still a masterclass in melodic craftsmanship. The record scooped five Grammys, including Album of the Year, and with good reason: every track is a masterstroke, and “Sailing” is its crown jewel.
As the crowd roared their approval and Cross took his final bow, one thing was clear: smooth rock legends never fade. They just go sailing.
Set List
- All Right
- Never Be the Same
- I Really Don't Know Anymore
- Dreamers
- Sailing
- Think of Laura
- You
- Arthur's Theme (Best That You Can Do)
- The Light Is On
- No Time for Talk
- Ride Like the Wind
Reviewer: Paul Marshall
Photography by Paul Marshall
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