Concert Review: Welcome Home JD!
We left the Hard Rock Café with half an hour to go before show time, but getting into Massey Hall went really smoothly. I was sitting in the sixteenth row of the left side orchestra, on the right aisle. This gave me a good view of the whole stage.
I had only a few minutes to wait before the lights went down and The Lovehammers began their set. They were much better than I expected. I loved the Price as Right theme music that was played just before Bobby started power drumming, which was a great way to get our attention. Dino the bass player had severed three of his fingers on his left hand a day or so before saving his dog, and he was wearing splints and played with only one finger. But he pulled it off and some.
Marty mentioned that it was exactly one year to the date that he had auditioned for Rockstar: INXS. And he spoke about how great it was that the fans are respecting that it's not about Marty but about the whole band. He also thanked INXS for offering them the opening slot on their world tour. Marty said this was the first time he had been in Toronto, and he likes it. He was even sporting a cut off Maple Leafs T-shirt. As anticipated, we got some scary conductor arms throughout the concert, and he scaled the PA system up to the balcony level and entertained fans in the front row there. I wasn't expecting to see so much of his ass crack though. Those jeans were really low-cut folks. He spoke with one kid from the audience, who it turned out plays bass guitar, and brought him up on stage. Dino gave him his bass to play, and the young boy played 'Smoke On The Water' while Marty held up the end of the bass, and the rest of the band played along with him. It was sweet.
The Lovehammers were a great opening act for INXS. I especially liked the songs 'The Tunnel,' and 'Call Of Distress.' People remained in their seats during most of their set, but got up for 'Trees', and stayed standing for 'Ring of Fire,' the last song of their set.
Then the lights came back on, and there was a crackle in the air while everyone waited for the stage to be prepared for INXS. When the five minute countdown began on the screen, my heart was beating so fast I had to sit down for a moment. But I was back up on my feet again and cheering at the one-minute mark. The last ten seconds were agony, and all around me people were counting down aloud. Then finally there was a bright flash, and my favourite band was there in front of me. It was a great moment. And INXS did not disappoint.
I had seen what the tour set-up looked like in other cities, but there were no side ramps tonight due to the size of the Massey Hall stage.
Andrew multi-tasks on stage like no one else I’ve seen. The double action harmonica and guitar on 'Suicide Blonde' was very impressive.
JD and Garry shared some touching moments on stage particularly during 'Disappear.' And during 'Original Sin', a song I was very happy to hear live again, Garry reached back and held JD's neck while he sang. This man-love is exceptionally hot in person.
I’m glad they included 'By My Side' in the set list. It was a rare treat that gave us a chance to see the whole band in action at centre stage.
Garry didn’t stop smiling all concert long. His smile is infectious. And his hip swivelling and shaking drove me to distraction at numerous points during the concert. He swivels his hips like no one else I've ever seen, and the best swivels came on 'Afterglow,' and 'Never Let You Go,' a song he spent most of positioned directly in line with where I stood dancing. Sigh. I was thrilled that he spent so much time entertaining us at stage right/house left. We got tons of bass feck faces too, especially during 'New Sensation.'
The Sultan wasn't wearing leather, but he looked great in a tight pair of jeans and a reddish coloured T-shirt with a cross design on it. JD started off with gloves, sunglasses, and a black leather jacket, but they came off quickly to reveal the butterfly shirt we've seen quite a few times, and those jeans with the leather back pockets and laces in the front. Tim had on a brown Morphine shirt and those lovely textured brown leather pants. He wears them well. Kirk looked suave in a striped dress shirt, while Andrew sported jeans and a dark T-shirt. Jon had on a striped logo shirt with lovely, well-fitting black pants.
It was kind of funny that JD mixed up the verses of 'Devil’s Party' because, after all, he co-wrote it. I put that down to opening-night-in-Toronto nerves.
As expected, 'Taste It' was a very combustible number and JD’s pelvic thrusts were panty poofing, but it was Kirk’s sexy sax work that got me the most worked up. He was hot, hot, hot.
'Never Let You Go' translates much better live than on the Switch album. The whole band got into the rhythm of this song, and the audience bopped along. But 'Afterglow' sounded a little off. It's a monumental song to try and do live.
It was a blast when Suzieblue from Rockband.com came up to my row and we did a bit of bump and grind during 'Need You Tonight', until the aisle nazis broke it up.
INXS took the song 'Kick' to a level I'd never heard before, and JD was bouncing everywhere faster than the Energizer Bunny. He made quite a few fans very happy with his foray down the house right aisle during 'Pretty Vegas', which concluded with a tossing of the microphone stand, like he did on Rockstar: INXS. JD got quite emotional as the show was coming to a close, and thanked us for coming out to see them play.
I got a lovely rear view of Jon as he went to the drum kit for the encore. He has some very slappy ass-ets indeed! And I squeed when I saw JD come out with the asshat. I love the asshat, and JD looks adorable in it.
During the encore 'The Stairs' was delivered with depth and passion. At the start of 'Don't Change' Suzieblue dragged me down to the stage. We ended up in front of Kirk, who was amused by our enthusiastic dancing and singing. At the end Kirk and Jon came by and were shaking everyone’s hands. I missed out being so short, but it was great to be that close.
As the last notes of 'Don’t Change' ended, and the band exited the stage, I was overwhelmed myself. It had been 15 years since I had last seen INXS play on the X Factor Tour, and I was grateful for the opportunity to see them again.
Set List:
Suicide Blonde
New Sensation
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
The Stairs
Never Tear Us Apart
Don’t Change
We learned later that while taking off his bass at the end of the encore, Garry had banged his head hard enough to cause bleeding. Those that saw him later said he was sporting quite the bump.
After the show I went with Suzieblue to meet the Lovehammers, and we wanted them to sign our ticket stub because their name didn't appear anywhere on the ticket. They seemed pleased with that. Marty saw my Rockstar shirt and thought it was cool, and mentioned about his auditioning one year to the day in Chicago. In person he has the most beautiful and striking eyes. The band were very nice, and I was very impressed with the size of Bobby’s arms. Dayum!
Audio Blog - INXS and JD Forum Members Rock!!
1 comment:
Hee hee. There's no way he heard me, but there was so much touching, kissing, and frottaging going on, I was feeling a bit territorial.
Audio blogging is a real hoot. You get a chance to listen your submission before you submit, and you can re-record if you like.
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