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INXS satisfies fans; Stapp not so lucky |
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Written by ANDY STYLES / Photos by MAUREEN VANA
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Monday, 12 June 2006 |
The curtain drops as we hear the opening harmonica of "Suicide Blonde," a certified smash that rang through the Rosemont Theatre like a little bit of heaven. New Singer, J.D. Fortune appears singing the soul essence of Michael Hutchence and at times even reenacting his powerful mannerisms, but was also careful to interject his own style with his performance.
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INXS with Scott Stapp
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 Entertainment
 Art
Rosemont Theater
Rosemont, Ill.
May 23, 2006
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In the wake of Michael Hutchence's 1997 death, INXS has struggled to find its place through the years, going through a handful of forgettable lead singers, some known and some unknown names. Of course, that was until they chose to do an “American Idol” like reality show and find a singer on the successful RockStar: INXS”. These days they appear to have a second chance with a new album and selling-out theaters all over the country.
The group's surviving original members Andrew Farriss (keyboards, guitar) Tim Farriss (guitar) Jon Farriss (drums), Garry Beers (bass) and Kirk Pengilly (guitar, sax) were also in fine form, obviously rejuvenated by the most publicity they've seen since post-Hutchence. But this INXS 2.0 version didn't come across like the gimmick so many have unjustifiably tagged them. Instead, the band rocked a hot ninety-minute set leaving no stone unturned when it came to the hits and even dropping in a few of the new tunes from last year's Switch CD.
J.D. and the boys easily satisfied any die hard fan by playing a little bit of everything from their over two decade catalog. Songs like "Original Sin," "What You Need" and the evenings finale "Don't Change" while also spending ample time in the band's bookend albums Kick and X. Highlights of Kick included the fiery "Need You Tonight," sleazy "Devil Inside" and power ballad "Never Tear Us Apart," while the other disc's "By My Side" made the ladies take note that J.D. was in fact the perfect choice. The guys even dug out the overlooked "Taste It" off of Welcome To Wherever You Are in addition to Switch tunes such as the anthemic "Afterglow," the somewhat half-baked "Never Let You Go," plus the party oriented pair "Devil's Party" and "Pretty Vegas."
By the end everyone appeared to be satisfied with the final results and it may not be the INXS of the ’80s but its pretty damn close. It’s nice to have the Aussies back and let’s not jump to any conclusions till we see what the next album of tunes sound like when they may actually let J.D. show us what he’s really made of.
On the other hand, opener Scott Stapp hasn't had as much luck kick starting his career, thanks in part to a series of embarrassing personal incidents. He makes it so easy to make fun of him I won’t. Although he mixed a fair amount of new tunes from last years solo release, The Great Divide, with hits from Creed, there was nothing immediate about the new tunes that hadn't been heard before and the Creed tunes have been so overplayed that they were almost burdensome to sit through. Recent offerings like "Let Me Go" and "Justify" were sugar coated with cliches custom tailored for arena rock statue while "My Sacrifice" and "With Arms Wide Open" appeared weathered (no pun intended) and long past their point of relevance. |
Stapp Rocked
Written by Guest on 2006-12-08 16:48:41
Stapp Rocked this show. I was suprised as hell. I would see him again. |
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