The Crowd 'Aint Pretty During the Show ;)

I would describe the overall attitude of the British fans, diehard and casual alike, before this show as… pragmatic. Which is an odd word to use for rock fans but somehow apt. Essentially, people seem to have been thinking that while they'd prefer to see Michael, as that isn't an option then INXS is better than no INXS so here they were. Which I can understand - bear in mind that Rockstar wasn't really shown here so most people don't know JD from Adam - and think is fair enough really. To me, anyone who says that a band begin and end with their frontman displays a shallow understanding of rock music and the dynamics of a band. Michael Hutchence was a phenomenal frontman, one of the best that ever lived, but he was also one sixth of a phenomenal band and that band is still around. Having said that though, it is inevitable that a great frontman does… set the tone, for want of a clearer phrase, particularly for a live performance. With that in mind, one of the things I have adored watching develop over the past year is not simply INXS with some bloke ably standing in for Michael, but a fully evolved and newly reinvigorated band that exists proudly within the legacy yet is exciting in and of itself too. One of the London Reviews - the Evening Standard - mentioned JD's "likeable weirdness" which does hit the nail on the head a bit - there is a real playful, slighty (maybe even more than slightly) bonkers, enthusiasm to him that is clearly infectious and creates a brilliantly fun abandon on stage. It isn't better than the shows with Michael, of course it's not, but neither is it worse, it is unique and fantastic and all in all, hats off to the Canadian weirdo. I have most definitely become a JD fan this year, and while of course I would jump at the chance to somehow see them with Michael in concert again, even if that was an option I would still chose to see the JD-ified INXS too. And it seems that as of Thursday night, plenty of British fans agree with me.

Just about every time I see INXS, I figure that I was incredibly lucky to be at a special concert where they are somehow especially on fire, one of those once in a life time phenomenal shows in which the band hit the climax of their genius. Then I see them again, think the same thing, and slowly realize that it's no one off fluke but just the way INXS play, every night. Shepherds Bush was absolutely no exception but for me what really made this gig was the crowd. The atmosphere was out of this world. From the opening, err, twiddle (the technical musical term, I believe) of harmonica on Suicide Blonde the crowd went bonkers and didn't regain sanity until probably some time Friday afternoon. There were a lot of blokes in the crowd, the most I've seen in a while (at an INXS concert that is, I don't mean to suggest that I live in a nunnery or anything) so possibly somewhat fuelled by sheer testosterone there was an absolute wild ferocity to the screaming, stomping and singing along that seemed to take even the band by surprise. The Shepherds Bush Empire started life, I believe, as a music hall, so it has four tiers - the floor in front of the stage, then three balconies stretching upwards. During Mystify, I turned around to see a couple of thousand people, the top level must have been a good two and a half storeys above the stage, each and every one with their hands above their heads clapping along. At times the place just about rattled with the vibrations of the dancing and stomping.

My sister, she of the chronic piss taking, was right at the forefront of the rabble bellowing at Tim during Never Tear Us Apart - although later on the tube she asked why we were bullying him so, surely it is up to him when he plays the fucking riff? When finally, an emotional band dragged themselves onstage and the lights went up, there was an almost palpable air of utter stunnedness, a loud, unspoken "holy fuck. That was INXS, then."