Audio Blog - INXS & The Lovehammers - Florida Theatre, Jacksonville, FL, February 24, 2006 - Part Two
Concert Review:
The Lovehammers rocked the house tonight. They’ve become a well-oiled machine and the audience all around where I was sitting, in the fourth row of the right orchestra, was up and singing along to many of their songs. I waited until the last night to get their CD, and unfortunately the lobby at the Florida Theatre was too small for them to do a signing session at the end of the show, so I never got a chance to get them to sign it.
The curtain came down at the beginning of ‘Suicide Blonde’ to reveal a newly shorn JD front and centre, commanding attention. And attention he got! It’s hard to take your eyes off him, but luckily the stage at the Florida Theatre was small, and you could see the whole band at the same time from most of the seats. There were no side ramps tonight due to the size of the stage.
The sound was crystal clear tonight, even though I was close to the speakers. I was perfectly in line for bass feck faces and an amazing performance from Sherriff Tim.
Andrew was dressed all in brown like a UPS worker and he was wearing a brown cap, not unlike the infamous asshat, except he was delivering his very special blend of melodic, funky grooves all night.
Garry was in blue jeans and had on a grey T-shirt. Jon was wearing black pants and a green T-shirt. Kirk was in blue jeans and the raspberry paisley dress shirt. JD, as usual, was in the lace-up jeans, and had on a black T-shirt under a white long-sleeve shirt.
While the rest of the band looked and sounded great, the night belonged to Tim, who looked particularly regal in an opened-necked purple shirt and the yummy brown leather pants. His guitar work was phenomenal, especially on 'Mystify,' 'Disappear,' ‘By My Side,’ ‘Original Sin,’ and ‘Devil Inside,’ which has pretty much been his signature song on the nights I’ve seen them play. He was on fire, making the sweetest music I’ve heard come from a guitar. Tim also got everyone’s attention during ‘Need You Tonight’ with more amazing guitar work, and some very well timed pelvic thrusts during the “whatcha gonna do?” parts. And as usual, he gave guitar picks away left, right, and centre, and was often playing without one.
‘Devil’s Party’ continues to be a strong number live. I noticed tonight how much Andrew gets into the groove on that song.
I loved JD’s falsetto during ‘Afterglow’. He has such a great vocal range. The backup singers need to back off a bit on that song and let his voice shine.
‘Taste It’ was hotter than ever. Tim showed no signs of letting up, and Kirk’s sax work was stunning tonight. And JD did some things to the microphone stand that made me blush a bit. But I watched every single minute, transfixed by his performance. He started off wetting his fingers and rubbing the mike stand. Then he worked on that one sweet spot again. And he was really enjoying himself.
It was a treat to watch Jon and Garry rock out together on ‘Original Sin.’ JD was lost in the moment several times dancing during that song. It was magical. And the drums and bass completely dominated ‘Hungry’. Jon even gave us double drumstick twirls after the drum break on that song! And Tim entertained us with some booty shaking during the song.
‘Never Let You Go’ was a definite stand-out in the set. I adored Tim’s ass wiggle throughout the song. I loved when JD changed one of the lines to “You should see Kirk in the rain,” and Kirk held up both his arms and smiled in acknowledgement. Kirk’s sax work was again noteworthy, but it was Jon who really shone on this song. He’s a powerhouse behind the drum kit. His drumming was extraordinary on ‘Don’t Change’ as well.
The playfulness continued during ‘Kick’. Some nights Kirk has been able to dodge Andrew’s tambourine, but tonight he got tagged twice on the behind. I don’t think I’ve seen another band who has that much fun on stage while being consummate professionals.
‘Pretty Vegas’ was the crowd favourite, and it was special to watch Jon, Tim, and Garry doing their thing on the drum risers all together. There were a few moments where JD was almost drowned out by the audience singing along.
And once again tonight, there were no aisle excursions by The Pretty.
The encore kicked off with ‘New Sensation,’ and Tim was wearing a very bright red Geisha T-shirt. JD returned to the stage wearing a lovely asshat and a “Good Fortune” T-shirt. It was very fitting because it was good fortune that the band found him during Rockstar: INXS, and good fortune for fans old and new. I am overjoyed that he fits in so well. They work together like they have known each other for years.
As ‘Don’t Change’ came to an end and the band took a final bow, I thought I would be sad but I couldn’t get the grin off my face. I had such a great time at the shows that I didn’t want to return home. I’m now eagerly counting down the days until the Canadian tour begins in May. When tickets go on sale in or near your area, don’t hesitate. You don’t want to miss a chance to see the best live band ever.
Set List:
Suicide Blonde
Devil’s Party
Mystify
Disappear
By My Side
Afterglow
Taste It
Original Sin
Hungry
Never Let You Go
Need You Tonight
What You Need
Kick
Devil Inside
Pretty Vegas
Encore
New Sensation
Never Tear Us Apart
Don’t Change
No comments:
Post a Comment