OMG, where do I even start???
Rockband Meet&Greet:
It was so great to see some people again and to meet some new faces!!! There were a few people that I had met before, but that I was happy to see again just the same!!! inzane looks awesome with the beard. :) {b]BSCGirl did an awesome job in organizing this M&G - THANK YOU GIRL!!! So I met up with Rouquine, who's just beautiful all around, and Suzieblue, who was all excited and dancing around while we finished getting ready. We arrived at the Hard Rock Cafe where we met inzane (love you man), BSCGirl and her husband, who's pretty cool!!!, SweetAs (I Love you girl! I always have so much fun with you!), Louloubelle, who came all the way from Halifax (you rock girl, move to TO so we can have fun together more often!), deeceegee (it was awesome to see you again!!!), eejay (dear sweetheart, it was great seeing you again!), Ember (you crazy girl!), nervousgirl (bubbly and gorgeous!), Radioshoes (girl, you could light up a room whole building with that smile!!!), b4beth (you are such cutie!), She {loved your shirt!), cdnwmn (sorry we didn't get to chat more... :( ), el44 (again sorry we didn't chat more), and a few other that I forget, sorry... :( I'm telling you, we have the best board group ever. Rockband members rule!!! *L*
Supporting Band:
Ok, on to The Lovehammers. I gotta say, LH really impressed me. I listened to a few of their tunes on the net, and frankly, wasn't too fond of any of them. But honestly, after last night, I might just go out and buy their album. They are pretty good!!! Marty's voice improved 100% and more. WOW! He did scream here and there, but that was ok, it fitted with the song and/or the lyrics. As others pointed out already, Marty climbed some boxes/speakers and got to the balcony and rocked out there with the crowd. He also straddle the railing and sang his heart out to the whole place from up there. He also got a little boy on stage, talked to him. The little boy said he plays bass, so the bassist lended him his bass and the boy started playing! The drummer got a few bangs in there as well as the guitarist, and the whole crowd was clapping. It was really cute, and I am sure the boy will remember that for the rest of his life! When he was done playing, he raised his arms above his head to a cheery crowd! :)
Trees dissapointed me. There I said it. I don't like this somewhat subdued version of it. It's still fun to dance to and sing along with, and it really got the crowd, who had been sitting down up until that point, up and dancing and singing along. But I still liked it better on RS:INXS, sorry. To me, the album version (which is the one they play live) misses some more rythmic sounds, and it's not as heavy as on the show. Too tame of a version I think. Ring of Fire was fun, and the crowd got into it, too.
Marty seemed very appreciative of INXS for the chance they gave Marty and his band. He thanked them several times during their set. He also made a point of mentionning a few times that it was not him and his band, it was just The Lovehammers. He seems to really like these guys and be happy to be playing with them!!!
Main Event:
Onto INXS!!!
As the 5 minute countdown was started, Rouquine and I and a few other rockbanders started screaming when the clock hit 4:48. People around us thought we were crazy, but we didn't care!!! We counted down from 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1,...... HARMONICA!!!!!!!!! The crowd was going wild, and I was already pogoing all over the place. We tried to rush the stage, but it was a no go. We (Rouquine and I) had moved from our N seats to row H, which was great!!! SuicideBlonde was awesome - what a way to kick off the show!!! Here's the set list:
- Suicide Blonde
- New Sensation
- Devil's Party
- Mystify
- Disappear
- By My Side
- Afterglow
- Taste It
- Original Sin
- Hungry
- Never Let You Go
- Need You Tonight
- What You Need
- Kick
- Devil Inside
- Pretty Vegas
ENCORE:
- The Stairs
- Never Tear Us Apart
- Don't Change
Honestly, they were all amazing, maybe with the exception of Afterglow which was really good but not as good as the rest. I love the song, but the backup singers need to GO on that song!!! Doesn't work.
Andrew was in great form! I didn't see much of him as he was in the back most of the time, and since I'm only 5f3, couldn't see him very well. But everytime I saw him, he had a big grin on his face and his eyes were twinkling. He seemed to really get into the music! He came forward a little during a few songs close to the end of the show and
interacted with JD a bit. It was great to see him have so much fun!
Kirk was sexy as hell. He was!!! He too had a big grin on his face almost the entire time. He played sax like there was no tomorrow. I didn't see him lay down on the stage during a solo, I'm too short. :( He had lots of interaction with the crowd, mainly smiles and eye contact. He threw his pic at the end of the show, and missed the person who he was throwing it to - he made that sorry face, walked up to the stage and gave it back to the person. It was sweet. :) At some point (during Don't Change I think) JD was singing in his face, and Kirk tried to back off, but JD smiled and kept coming forward. Kirk looked over at us and rolled his eyes... At that point, since it was the last song (Don't Change) we were all at the stage and Suzieblue and I just looked at each other and smile... Oh Kirky!!!
Tim seemed to be in awesome form!!!! He was really into his music, but interacted a lot with the crowd, too. He came to the left part of the stage several times, and was just having plain old fun! I really can't remember on what song (Never Let You Go maybe?), but Tim started to dance around with JD, and really having fun with the crowd. Lots of love between JD and Tim! He apparently threw a lot of pics in the crowd, but I didn't see it - again too short!
Garry.... Garry, Garry, Garry. Got a lot more respect for him after seeing him on stage. He had this huge smile all through the show, it was unbelievable. He sang along, he clapped his hands, he shook his booty, he gave JD some love, he played along with Jon, it was just beautiful to see him move all over the stage and have so much fun! It is so clear looking at him that he enjoys this whole thing immensely. He came to the left of the stage several times, and stood right up in front, singing along with the crowd and interacting with them. Garry stood front left during Never Tear Us Aprt, and was gesturing to the crowd that they and us could never be apart... He was singing and groving to the music, it was awesome!!! At some point JD came up behind him and Garry took JD's neck in his hand and tickled him. It was really cute. He really is a joy to watch on stage!
Jon.... Wow!!! Jon... WOW!!! Did I say WOW!!! He was awesome!!! I wished we'd see more of him, but of course I understand he can't actually walk up to the front of the stage with his drum set... He gets so into the music, sings and screams... He's just beautiful all around. He and JD interact a lot. They look at each other a lot, make faces at each other as well as take cues from each other. When it was time to play Never Let You Go, JD said: "Come on Jonny, let's play our song". And oh they did. They rocked the shit out of that song!!! Jon clearly loves to play NLYG. When the band came back for the encore, he walked up to the stage and gave his sticks to a boy standing in the front. He also shook hands with several fans after the encore. So did Kirk actually.
JD. What can I say??? JD... He was perfect. PERFECT! Ok, his voice did crack once or twice, and he messed up a few lines on one or two songs, but who cares really? WHO CARES??? He was beyond great - his voice is so totally back! Smooth, powerful, deep, strong, he could do what he wanted with his voice last night. He did chant a few of the lyrics on some of the songs - I don't know if it is to save his voice, or just to add his own flavor, but it was good! He did the reggae thing on Never Let You Go, and it was awesome. I gotta say, everyone who said that song is awesome live where right - it really rocks!!! For By My Side and Afterglow, 95% of the crowd sat down. Rouquine and I stood up and just sang along and swayed from side to side to the music... Many times I closed my eyes and just let the music take over and just moved and grooved to the sound of the drums, bass, guitar, sax, piano and of course JD's voice. Every single one of those songs they played was awesome. AWESOME!!! Afterglow was probably the worse of the bunch, and it was still really, really, really good. But please... THOSE BACK UP SINGERS JUST NEED TO GO!!! They were fine and non-intrusive on the rest of the songs, and they actually blended in quite well with JD and the rest of the band. but on Afterglow, they so didn't work! I don't know who's off, but when everyone sings the chorus, it sounds off key. JD talked to the audience several times, more or less the same we've heard him say at the other shows. He did say at some point that he wished he could take all of us back to the hotel room... Squees were heard... Taste It was all it was promised to be. Sexy as hell, JD's voice was amazing on this one. Loved tyhe falsettos! His moves going down on the mike were surprisingly riveting - from the videos we've seen, I thought they were a bit cheesy, but it is quite different once you see this live!!! OMG... It really is poof worthy! And he did the twirling of the mike after the going down on the mike... OMG... It really was orgasmic!
Pretty Vegas... is it possible to love this song even more after hearing it over and over again for the last few months? This song so totally rocks live!!! The crowd just exploded and got even louder, if that is even possible. I pogoed like I've never pogoed before... I was exhausted by the end of the song! It is almost impossible for me to pick a favorite. The whole freaking show rocked so much!!! But if I really had to, I'd say 1- the combo Suicide Blonde - New Sensation, this just kicks the show off in a very intense way! 2- Pretty Vegas for what it means to JD and to us who supported him through RS:INXS and 3- Never Tear Us Apart for the intensity. But Never Let You Go and Don't Change are close behind!!! Damn, who am I kidding, I can't pick a favorite, all the songs were beyond awesome!
As we got out of the Hard Rock after a few after-concert drinks, The Lovehammers minus Marty were trying to get in, but the HR was closing. The poor guys were looking for a place to go have a drink and have fun, but it's freaking monday night, so everything was closing down early... As I left to take the subway with SweetAs, suzieblue and a few others were talking to them. Don't know if they'll have any juicy reports for us...
I was really worried at how I'd feel physically last night. I felt so horrible all day, with chest congestion and a very sore throat... I also had a ligt headache just before it was time to leave to meet the other Rockbanders. I sucked on Ricola cough drops all day, drank lots of water, and just before I left, popped an Advil. Got two drinks and
a bit of food at the Hard Rock before the show, and I was good to go!!! This morning, my voice is completely shut - I can't SQUEEE even if I try, nothing comes out! But, good news, chest congestion is gone, stuffy nose is gone!!! So, it seems that for me, screaming my head off for over 2 hours is the way to cure chest congestion and sore throat!
