[Laura Wolfe]

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      New singer and all, INXS roars=20
      Five years after the death of Michael Hutchence, the band shows it =
was always more than just him.=20

      June 2, 2002=20

      By BEN WENER
      The Orange County Register=20


      It took only one big hit - "New Sensation," appropriately - to =
convince us we hadn't wasted our time.=20

      Mind you, there was good reason to fear the worst. Here was INXS, =
for a time one of the biggest (yet also one of the most underestimated) =
bands in the world, a massively appealing multimillion- seller yanking =
its next incarnation out of its cocoon nearly five years after the =
untimely death of its superstar, Michael Hutchence.=20

      Once these image-conscious Aussies sold out arenas in minutes; =
now, banking on nothing more than reputation and word of mouth, they =
were lucky to draw a sizable crowd of devoted fans to the Grove of =
Anaheim on Thursday night, all of them undoubtedly curious to learn more =
about a man whose name they probably still don't know.=20

      Jon Stevens, known in his native land as front man for a group =
called Noiseworks - that's who has replaced Hutchence. He's built, he's =
got the long, curly hair, he's got the over-the-top moves. He's got the =
look. Not Michael's look. Few - very few - have Michael's look.=20

      But more crucially he can sing, and with a big voice that can nail =
those hearty wails the way we expect (heck, insist on).=20

      Indeed, there were moments during this two-hour return when, if =
you closed your eyes and suspended just a smidgen of disbelief, Stevens' =
emulation was so spot- on you could imagine you were hearing the real =
thing. Took zero effort on "Disappear" and "Bitter Tears," actually. =
Clearly the band also realizes the occasional eerie similarity, as put =
to excellent use during the haunting staple "Never Tear Us Apart," =
Stevens singing in the shadows as two giant screens shared adoring =
black-and-white footage of Hutchence - in action, at rest, at play, in =
reflection.=20

      It was the perfect tribute, touching but not sappy, a welcome =
reminder of just how magnetic he was - and it left more than a few eyes =
misty. But it was Stevens' virtual channeling of his predecessor's voice =
that surprised.=20

      As guitarist-saxophonist- second banana Kirk Pengilly told me: =
"Jon has his own voice, and technically I'd say he's the better singer. =
But there are moments when I just stop and go, 'God, that sounds like =
Michael.'"=20

      I spoke with Pengilly (who these days resembles Marshall Crenshaw =
with a pencil- thin mustache) by phone from his home Down Under a few =
weeks before this American outing began, the Grove being only the second =
state side stop for this lineup. And I was blunt: For a fan like me, the =
question has never been about whether they could carry on with someone =
else, only whether they should.=20

      Pengilly was quick to set me straight. "Thing is, we haven't =
really stopped since Michael died. We're in the business of making and =
playing music. That's all we've ever done together ... and it's pretty =
hard to stop."=20

      For a while they considered enlisting celebrity vocalists, as the =
David Byrne-less Talking Heads once did. All that came of that was a =
one-off teaming with Terence Trent D'Arby to open Sydney's Olympic =
Stadium in 1999.=20

      Once Stevens was added - and rumors had swirled that he would be =
permanent mere months after Hutchence hanged himself - they tested him =
out on a hometown crowd. That success led to a 13-date tour of Northern =
Australia, then a trip to Vienna.=20

      "We're moving forward now," Pengilly says. "We've gotten through =
our tragedy, largely because we've remained silent about it. It's =
obvious people want to know, but it's difficult. I know I've moved on. =
I'm over it, and I've dealt with it. Now I want the focus to be on what =
we're doing today."=20

      What that is, given this performance, is more of what they're =
known for, only in miniature. INXS is wrongly remembered foremost as a =
hit-driven vehicle for its sex symbol, when in fact it remains perhaps =
the tightest blue-eyed funk-rock unit since the Average White Band. =
Hutchence's popularity not running roughshod over that identity has =
always been paramount.=20

      "We didn't get the cover of Rolling Stone for that reason," =
Pengilly recalls, "because Michael wouldn't let it be just him on the =
cover."=20

      So solid is the band's sound, in fact, that it would have had to =
enlist an atonal hack to mar it. Time and again Thursday night it wasn't =
Stevens but the rest of INXS - Pengilly, bassist Garry Gary Beers and =
the Farriss brothers, Andrew (keys), Jon (drums) and Tim (guitar) - who =
impressed, reviving classics with strength and polish. Only on "What You =
Need," overblown by Jon's incessant tribal fills, did they lose their =
way.=20

      The rest was nostalgia of the sweetest kind, with the charismatic =
Stevens winning over most of the naysayers. He isn't a flawless fit: For =
starters, he's incapable of re-creating Hutchence's smoldering =
sensuality, those alluring whispers that make "Need You Tonight" and =
"Devil Inside" so tantalizing.=20

      Yet he's no pale imitation. Pengilly draws comparisons to AC/DC, =
likening Stevens' role to the one Brian Johnson has filled since Bon =
Scott died. There's some truth to that, but I view it more like Sammy =
Hagar taking over for David Lee Roth in Van Halen. To me, no one can =
replace Diamond Dave - but Sammy got the job done.=20

      Whether INXS 2.0 can scale the same heights, well, I have greater =
doubt. Two new songs - a churner called "Hungry" and a steady piece =
whose title has something to do with sugar (Stevens mumbled it) - =
wouldn't have lit up the charts in '87, much less now. They're fine =
tunes; Andrew Farriss, who wrote or co-wrote most of INXS' smashes, =
knows how to write for Hutchence's tone, and Stevens knows how to copy =
it. But they aren't about to wipe away past glories.=20

      Still, worse post-mortem outfits have existed. (I give you the =
Jim-free Doors.) The cream of the INXS catalog, and it is plentiful, is =
not just mighty radio fare, it's great music, period. I, for one, am =
happy to see it surviving. Should they carry on this way, it hardly =
would be a disgrace.=20
    =20


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    <TD vAlign=3Dtop><FONT face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, Sans-serif" =
color=3D#333300=20
      size=3D5><B><!--%BEGINHEAD%-->New singer and all, INXS roars =
<!--%ENDHEAD%--></B></FONT>
      <P><FONT face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, Sans-serif" =
size=3D4><!--%BEGINDECK%--><!--%BEGINSUMMARY%-->Five years after the =
death=20
      of Michael Hutchence, the band shows it was always more than just =
him.<!--%ENDSUMMARY%--> <!--%ENDDECK%--></FONT>
      <P><FONT face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, Sans-serif" size=3D2>June 2, =
2002</FONT>=20
      <P><!--%BEGINBYLINE%--><FONT face=3D"Arial, Helvetica, Sans-serif" =

      size=3D2><B>By BEN WENER</B><BR>The Orange County Register</FONT> =
<!--%ENDBYLINE%-->
      <P>
      <P><!--BEGINSECTION(entertainment)ENDSECTION--><!-- START BODYTEXT =
INCL. BYLINE and BYCREDIT --><!--%BEGINPAGE%%ENDPAGE%-->It=20
      took only one big hit - "New Sensation," appropriately - to =
convince us we=20
      hadn't wasted our time.=20
      <P>Mind you, there was good reason to fear the worst. Here was =
INXS, for a=20
      time one of the biggest (yet also one of the most underestimated) =
bands in=20
      the world, a massively appealing multimillion- seller yanking its =
next=20
      incarnation out of its cocoon nearly five years after the untimely =
death=20
      of its superstar, Michael Hutchence.=20
      <P>Once these image-conscious Aussies sold out arenas in minutes; =
now,=20
      banking on nothing more than reputation and word of mouth, they =
were lucky=20
      to draw a sizable crowd of devoted fans to the Grove of Anaheim on =

      Thursday night, all of them undoubtedly curious to learn more =
about a man=20
      whose name they probably still don't know.=20
      <P>Jon Stevens, known in his native land as front man for a group =
called=20
      Noiseworks - that's who has replaced Hutchence. He's built, he's =
got the=20
      long, curly hair, he's got the over-the-top moves. He's got the =
look. Not=20
      Michael's look. Few - very few - have Michael's look.=20
      <P>But more crucially he <I>can </I>sing, and with a big voice =
that can=20
      nail those hearty wails the way we expect (heck, insist on).=20
      <P>Indeed, there were moments during this two-hour return when, if =
you=20
      closed your eyes and suspended just a smidgen of disbelief, =
Stevens'=20
      emulation was so spot- on you could imagine you were hearing the =
real=20
      thing. Took zero effort on "Disappear" and "Bitter Tears," =
actually.=20
      Clearly the band also realizes the occasional eerie similarity, as =
put to=20
      excellent use during the haunting staple "Never Tear Us Apart," =
Stevens=20
      singing in the shadows as two giant screens shared adoring =
black-and-white=20
      footage of Hutchence - in action, at rest, at play, in reflection. =

      <P>It was the perfect tribute, touching but not sappy, a welcome =
reminder=20
      of just how magnetic he was - and it left more than a few eyes =
misty. But=20
      it was Stevens' virtual channeling of his predecessor's voice that =

      surprised.=20
      <P>As guitarist-saxophonist- second banana Kirk Pengilly told me: =
"Jon has=20
      his own voice, and technically I'd say he's the better singer. But =
there=20
      are moments when I just stop and go, 'God, that sounds like =
Michael.'"=20
      <P>I spoke with Pengilly (who these days resembles Marshall =
Crenshaw with=20
      a pencil- thin mustache) by phone from his home Down Under a few =
weeks=20
      before this American outing began, the Grove being only the second =
state=20
      side stop for this lineup. And I was blunt: For a fan like me, the =

      question has never been about whether they could carry on with =
someone=20
      else, only whether they should.=20
      <P>Pengilly was quick to set me straight. "Thing is, we haven't =
really=20
      stopped since Michael died. We're in the business of making and =
playing=20
      music. That's all we've ever done together ... and it's pretty =
hard to=20
      stop."=20
      <P>For a while they considered enlisting celebrity vocalists, as =
the David=20
      Byrne-less Talking Heads once did. All that came of that was a =
one-off=20
      teaming with Terence Trent D'Arby to open Sydney's Olympic Stadium =
in=20
      1999.=20
      <P>Once Stevens was added - and rumors had swirled that he would =
be=20
      permanent mere months after Hutchence hanged himself - they tested =
him out=20
      on a hometown crowd. That success led to a 13-date tour of =
Northern=20
      Australia, then a trip to Vienna.=20
      <P>"We're moving forward now," Pengilly says. "We've gotten =
through our=20
      tragedy, largely because we've remained silent about it. It's =
obvious=20
      people want to know, but it's difficult. I know I've moved on. I'm =
over=20
      it, and I've dealt with it. Now I want the focus to be on what =
we're doing=20
      today."=20
      <P>What that is, given this performance, is more of what they're =
known=20
      for, only in miniature. INXS is wrongly remembered foremost as a=20
      hit-driven vehicle for its sex symbol, when in fact it remains =
perhaps the=20
      tightest blue-eyed funk-rock unit since the Average White Band.=20
      Hutchence's popularity not running roughshod over that identity =
has always=20
      been paramount.=20
      <P>"We didn't get the cover of Rolling Stone for that reason," =
Pengilly=20
      recalls, "because Michael wouldn't let it be just him on the =
cover."=20
      <P>So solid is the band's sound, in fact, that it would have had =
to enlist=20
      an atonal hack to mar it. Time and again Thursday night it wasn't =
Stevens=20
      but the rest of INXS - Pengilly, bassist Garry Gary Beers and the =
Farriss=20
      brothers, Andrew (keys), Jon (drums) and Tim (guitar) - who =
impressed,=20
      reviving classics with strength and polish. Only on "What You =
Need,"=20
      overblown by Jon's incessant tribal fills, did they lose their =
way.=20
      <P>The rest was nostalgia of the sweetest kind, with the =
charismatic=20
      Stevens winning over most of the naysayers. He isn't a flawless =
fit: For=20
      starters, he's incapable of re-creating Hutchence's smoldering =
sensuality,=20
      those alluring whispers that make "Need You Tonight" and "Devil =
Inside" so=20
      tantalizing.=20
      <P>Yet he's no pale imitation. Pengilly draws comparisons to =
AC/DC,=20
      likening Stevens' role to the one Brian Johnson has filled since =
Bon Scott=20
      died. There's some truth to that, but I view it more like Sammy =
Hagar=20
      taking over for David Lee Roth in Van Halen. To me, no one can =
replace=20
      Diamond Dave - but Sammy got the job done.=20
      <P>Whether INXS 2.0 can scale the same heights, well, I have =
greater=20
      doubt. Two new songs - a churner called "Hungry" and a steady =
piece whose=20
      title has something to do with sugar (Stevens mumbled it) - =
wouldn't have=20
      lit up the charts in '87, much less now. They're fine tunes; =
Andrew=20
      Farriss, who wrote or co-wrote most of INXS' smashes, knows how to =
write=20
      for Hutchence's tone, and Stevens knows how to copy it. But they =
aren't=20
      about to wipe away past glories.=20
      <P>Still, worse post-mortem outfits have existed. (I give you the =
Jim-free=20
      Doors.) The cream of the INXS catalog, and it is plentiful, is not =
just=20
      mighty radio fare, it's great music, period. I, for one, am happy =
to see=20
      it surviving. Should they carry on this way, it hardly would be a=20
      disgrace. </P></TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE></DIV></BODY></HTML>

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