Date: Fri, 18 Apr 1997 15:17:33 -0400 From: Neil KothariTo: INXS Mailing List Subject: NYC Concert "Simply amazing as always" is my short summation of the show. The energy level was brimming, with the line waiting to enter the club stretching a block long by 7:30 (and the band didn't even come on until 9:30ish.) I was genuinely surprised and happily impressed by the crowd -- an older, college-and-up crowd, with not one teeny bopper in sight. All in all, it was a pretty hip bunch of people. Radish opened the show, and I have to agree with everyone else, they are terrible. Just because you thrash your guitars ala Slayer doesn't make you good. There's this notion in the US that the harder you play, the better you are. Wrong. One plus factor for them is that all 3 band members appear to worship INXS. Onto INXS --- brilliant, tight performance. Jon's drumming was as breath-taking as always, and as odd as it sounds, the band seemed to be playing harder than any time I've ever heard them. Songs like "Listen Like Thieves" (which had the whole club jumping and singing along) were played with heavier guitar sounds than on the actual album, which was an interesting change. Oh, and honest to God, I have never heard Michael's voice sound so crisp, powerful, and emotive. He was a sight to behold alright. He was just at the top of his game, as he captivated the audience, and continually had amusing banters with the crowd between songs. Highlights/notes of the show: The set-list was the same as Chicago, except they added "Mediate" after "Need You Tonight." HA! Our show was longer than yours! HA! :) Oh, he even mentioned having played in Chicago a few days ago; when the crowd naturally booed, he said, "Yeah, it was only a one night thing, it didn't mean anything to me. I didn't even learn her name" or something to that effect. He basically had us all laughing the whole night. They have funky new interpretations of "Original Sin" and "What You Need" which were excellent, and the addition of "Kiss the Dirt" was wonderful. "Elegantly Wasted" was one of the highlights of the evening, with the crowd singing along as if the single was one of the biggest INXS hits ever. (It was nice to see, believe me.) Interestingly enough, my personal issues with the song aside, I thought "Girl on Fire" came off really flat, and though the band was *really* into their playing of it, the crowd just didn't really respond. Oh, and how can I not mention "Heaven Sent," where Michael gave the microphone to our very own Josh and Steph to sing for the first few lines! Pretty cool all in all.... Following the show, we went to the after-party at Chaos, which was a mad-house of people. Luckily, Dana snagged some passes from Mercury acquaintances, and we briefly went in. She (having met the band before) introduced me to Kirk, Garry, and Tim. (We couldn't get past the papparazzi to meet Michael, I didn't see Jon at all though he was there, and though Andrew was standing near me at one point, he seemed rather quiet and to himself, so I decided not to introduce myself.) Tim (heh, hard to write about someone when you know they're on the List) is honestly one of the nicest people I've ever met. Very appreciative of all of the web efforts. At one point in our conversation, when I thanked him for the mention on the album, he goes, "Oh, you noticed that, did you?" I look at him, "What the heck! You didn't think I would notice that!" He sheepishly replies, "Hmm, yes, I guess that was a rather silly thing for me to have said!" He sends his love to everyone on the List, btw. I also met the notorious Paul Craig, who when he heard who I was, did a rather amusing Wayne's World-esque "We're Not Worthy! We're Not Worthy!" Well, so it was a great evening all in all. I finally can say I've met the band, which is I guess something that I've always wanted to do... I've said my "hello" and I'm happy at that. -- NKoth@worldnet.att.net -- kotharne@umdnj.edu -- nkoth@iname.com NJ Med '00 -- http://www.umdnj.edu/~kotharne/ An Excess of INXS -- http://www.umdnj.edu/~kotharne/inxs.html