Concert Review: Cleveland Really Does F**king Rock!
When I got into Cleveland I wandered over to the preshow meet up spot, The Winking Lizard, but couldn’t find any INXS fans, just lots of Cavaliers fans (Cleveland’s basketball team) and some Cleveland Indians fans (baseball). Both teams were playing that night, so the downtown area was hopping.
I’m not even going to bother discussing Scott Stapp as the opening act. I tried to like him, but just could not.
During the public sale I managed to get a pit seat for this show, but found myself nearly going deaf during the opening act. CumonCumon from Rockband ended up with an extra ticket for the show, and before INXS went on I was able to move up one row and further right, on the aisle, directly in line with Garry and Tim. And directly behind Inzane! I had joked with him about the moan happening earlier and earlier, and tonight JD only made it to twelve seconds before he let out a reverberating moan that pierced the theatre.
‘Suicide Blonde’ kicked off the gig in high gear. The sound wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t as stellar as I had been led to believe. Kirk was wearing a tan jacket, raspberry paisley shirt, and blue jeans. Jon had the iron cross shirt on, and black pants. JD wore the lace up jeans, a blazer, and a dress shirt. Andrew was wearing jeans, a jacket, and black T-shirt. Garry had on those lovely brown pants, a jean jacket, and a white sleeveless T-shirt. I'm glad that Garry got the memo that he looks good in sleeveless shirts. Tim was decked out in blue jeans, a cool blazer, and an open necked dress shirt.
JD was really into ‘Devil’s Party’ tonight. And Tim was all over the stage.
‘Mystify’ was very emotional, and full of a raw intensity I had not seen before. And the song got a great crowd response.
Tim’s was shredding the riffs with his new flashy guitar on ‘Hot Girls.’ JD wasn’t doing any riding it tonight, but we got plenty of JD and Tim loving. And Tim and Garry were really rocking it at one point.
Before they started ‘By My Side’ JD said “You guys are just like...awesome,” and then he asked if Cleveland rocks, which was answered with loud screams. Tim was wild on his marlin guitar, and Garry was shaking it on the risers.
JD vocals were delivered with a lot of power on ‘Afterglow.’ Garry and Jon were trading feck faces throughout the song.
During ‘Taste It,’ Garry and Andrew were smiling and rocking. We got some great sax sex stage right, in front of me. Kirk was smoking hot, and made everyone around him hot. He misted the audience with his reed mister from time to time. There was another awesome guitar solo by Andrew, with support from Tim on the marlin tonight. I was so captivated by the opened legged sexophone work tonight I missed what I was told was a night of mild mic stand sex.
JD was in top form on ‘Original Sin.’ During the song he took Inzane’s Canadian flag and put it in his back pocket. He was over our way a fair amount. Garry had his foot on the monitor in front of me, and was swaying and plucking. At one point Kirk was saxing with Garry.
The vocals on ‘Hungry’ were awesome tonight too. And Garry was kicking ass on his bass, and Tim was having a great time with his shiny guitar. Tim looked lovely in that open necked shirt.
During ‘Never Let You Go,’ JD was singing to Jon, and Jon was singing back. JD kissed a little girl who brought flowers up to the stage, and gave her his bracelet. Garry spent a good portion of the song on the ramp swaying to the rhythm.
‘Need You Tonight’ was a major highlight of the night. Tim was playing to a little girl, then he went over to play with Kirk at stage right. JD milked the end of the song a bit tonight.
Another highlight for me was ‘What You Need .’ Garry and Andrew were rocking face to face, and Tim's guitar work was awesome. Tim and Kirk were at the back of the ramp again tonight, saxing and wailing on the guitar. At one point Garry wiped his forehead on the back of Tim’s shirt.
There was some awesome sax work on ‘Kick’, and Tim was riffing away on the marlin .
Then it was “Time to go to church,” as they began ‘Devil Inside.’ I love going to the Church of INXS. JD lit up a smoke during the song. Garry was very animated on this one, playing mostly with Tim and Jon.
During ‘Pretty Vegas’ JD did a crowd romp right in front of me for the first time in 18 gigs. And I ended up getting trampled by security as he did. I wound up on the ground, with my signs, and bags everywhere. We got a lovely moment with Tim and Garry, and Kirk and Andrew rocking. When they lined up at the end of the song, JD said “Cleveland really does f**king rock!” And Jon did some pelvic thrusts.
For the encore JD came out in a light-coloured asshat, with a cigarette and a drink. The encore was a bit of a blur. I was still recovering from landing hard on my ass during Pretty Vegas, and I was also fighting to keep my place as more people came to the front near the stage. It was also running through my mind that this was the last gig I was going to. I managed to snap a few photos with a disposable camera.
After the show I brought my thank-you sign for the techs up to DrumTech, and he gave me one of Jon’s sticks he had put aside. I was able to get that one signed by Jon. Thanks to INXS security I got a very rarely seen Andrew Farriss guitar pick. And I got a chance to really talk to JD for the first time. I was left with an even deeper appreciation for him as a man and as an artist. He is the most intense, generous, and gracious man I’ve met in the longest time. He’s a very special spirit, and if he asked, I would totally follow him to the ends of the earth.
Set List:
Suicide Blonde
Devil's Party
Mystify
Hot Girls
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
Chocolate Chip Orgasm Rap
New Sensation
Amazing Grace
Never Tear Us Apart
Don't Change
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