INXS draws small crowd, but the band doesn't disappoint

When I found out that the INXS show had been moved from the Reno Hilton’s large outdoor amphitheater to the much smaller Hilton Theater, I was worried. When showtime came Thursday and the 1,600-capacity theater was only about two-thirds full, I was more worried.

But when the show started and an enthusiastic crowd grooved to electronic-pop outfit Book of Love’s opening set, it was clear that the size of the crowd wasn’t going to be an issue. By the time 1980s pop singer Howard Jones came on, the enthusiasm was building. Jones fans came out of the woodwork to sing along with his 40-minute set, including the hits "New Song," "Everlasting Love," "Like to Get to Know You Well" and "No One is to Blame."

Jones also threw in some new material from the late ’90s, most of it bordering on techno. I thought the guy next to me in the Def Leppard T-shirt, jumping up and down like a schoolgirl saying "super" over and over, was going to faint.

But most of the crowd was there to see INXS, wondering whether Jon Stevens, the replacement for Michael Hutchence, who died in 1997, could front the Australian band.

He did a good job, plowing through most of the band’s hits from the ’80s and a few of the later-period songs. The ladies sure didn’t seem to mind who was singing. Stevens’ good looks and Hutchence-sounding voice made him a target for several women who jumped up on stage to dance. I think some people even thought he was Hutchence.

The rest of the band, still all of the original members, performed flawlessly in its 90-minute set, which sampled the band’s entire career with songs including "Original Sin," "Listen Like Thieves," "Shine Like It Does" and all the hits from 1987’s "Kick."

A particularly heartfelt moment came in "Never Tear Us Apart," with a video tribute to Hutchence playing behind the band. The flickering lighters even came out for that one. But even without Hutchence, the band never seemed like it was out there just to collect a paycheck. The members were truly having fun. Guitarist Tim Farriss obliged a number of times when fans offered him a beer, pausing with his guitar pick stuck to his forehead for a sip. And a shower of spent picks and sticks went out to grateful fans.

Pulled back for an encore, INXS did "What You Need," "Suicide Blonde" and 1982’s "Don’t Change."

INXS plans to make another album with Stevens. Whether it goes on to make more hits with a new singer Van Halen style remains to be seen, but if it wants, INXS could go on as a nostalgia act with its vault of hits for a very long time. (by Jason Kellner)

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