March 1988, Patriot Center, Fairfax, Va.
INXS was the girl before the girl, which is to say it was the band I liked plenty before I found the band I loved.
The Swing, the stunning 1984 album from the Australian band, remains one of my favorites; for the longest time the song “Don’t Change” (from Shabooh Shoobah) was on every mixed tape I made (back when people made mixed tapes). For a three-week period INXS was my crush, I couldn’t get enough.
Then I heard the opening sounds from an album called Reckoning, and that was that (a story for another time).
But INXS remained on my mind (past loves will do that), and I wasn’t alone. Listen Like Thieves found a bigger audience, while Kick sent the band into rare air, the land of year-long stints of sold-out shows and constant praise. Michael Hutchence, the band’s dynamic lead singer, was an international superstar and the best of frontmen. It was for Kick the opportunity to see the band arose not far from where I was attending college.
My then-girlfriend was a huge INXS fan, holding a massive celebrity crush for Hutchence (as did millions of others), so we got tickets. It didn’t hurt that PiL was opening, touring on the merits of its latest album Happy?, another lasting album with its admirers (listen to the beginning of “The Body,” then listen to the start of Foo Fighters’ “My Hero” — yep, same thing). It was a date we both looked forward.
It was not usual then for things to spiral out of control (which happened quite a bit in the relationship as well). Of course my girlfriend’s car broke down, of course we got into a fight about it. We made it, but of course we missed PiL (the ending notes of “Seattle” played as we walked in).
But INXS came on, and the animosity melted away.
Good bands will do that, and even though this was another stop on a never-ending tour, INXS didn’t let anyone feel this was a grind.
The wonders of technology allow me to see the songs from that night (no way I remember them all), and from the lens 20-odd years later, it was a night of hits — “Original Sin,” “Listen Like Thieves,” “Never Tear Us Apart,” “Mystify,” “The One Thing,” “What You Need”. The encore was “Need You Tonight” (lest anyone thought they would leave that song out), with “Don’t Change” ending the night. I remember the band playing effortlessly, and Hutchence moving around the stage on a skateboard.
I go into shows wanting to hear certain songs, but being OK if I don’t hear them all. I wanted to hear all those songs from The Swing (how great is “I Send A Message” or “Melting in the Sun”), but to hear “Burn for You” was enough to satisfy the craving. If I wanted to hear all the songs from The Swing, I should have gone to The Swing tour, right?
It would be the only time seeing INXS, but it was right time. I, like many, wind up seeing bands during the tour of their biggest album, though I’ve been fortunate to see some before their height.
But this band was never bigger, and despite car troubles, I caught it right on time.
