Don't Change for You

INXS @ Tower Records on the Upper West Side 11/29/05
I have a confession to make. As some of you know, I watched the reality show Rock Star: INXS religiously from its 4th or 5th episode back in July up until its conclusion in September, culminating with them naming JD Fortune as their new lead singer. You see, I've liked them since I was 13 with their 1987 album Kick being one of the first albums I ever bought and I couldn't help but to be curious about their first album in 8 years and their 1st without original singer Michael Hutchence, who of course tragically died in 1997.

In all honesty, though, I had no plans on buying their new album Switch right away (though the new single "Pretty Vegas" is quite good), but when I heard that they were doing an in-store, I rushed out to get a wristband and for the cost of buying the new album, I was guaranteed admission to an in-store performance with a signing afterwards. The set was short, as they only played 4 songs (a 5th song, either "Devil Inside" or "Never Tear Us Apart", was on the setlist, but not played) and encompassed "Mystify" and "Need You Tonight" from Kick as well as "Don't Change" (their first single to chart in the US Top #100 back in 1982) and the aforementioned "Pretty Vegas". After waiting outside in line again for the signing, I got my booklet signed (to be scanned soon hopefully) and got to briefly talk to and shake hands with all of the members, including JD. It felt a little surreal since I'd watched JD compete with other singers on TV and now here I was shaking his hand, though I certainly wasn't starstruck. It's like you think that these people exist on some other plane and in some other reality other than your own, but in reality they're just the same when it comes right down to it. I also got to tell bassist Gary Beers that we missed him since they were only playing as a 4-piece (it was an acoustic set, though for an "acoustic set" it was pretty rockin'), which was pretty funny.

All in all, it was a fun night (and that includes the excellent dim sum that we had afterwards at Shun Lee; pricy but great) and it was worth the $11.99 (the price I paid for the new album) since I just viewed it as the ticket price (the album's actually pretty good, too).