Wednesday evening during a quick trip inside the pub for a moment to see about a horse, I heard a song playing in the background, a fairly popular hit from around 35 years ago. As the weather is still quite pleasant, hardly anyone is sitting inside, preferring instead to take advantage of the open air without having to have any concerns about social distancing indoors. Thus, the pub was empty, save for the young staff, who were not even born until about 15 years after the song came out. I was mildly curious as to why they were listening to the playlist, but was more glad to actually hear the song, as it was a particular favorite when I was in school.
The particular song was from an Australian band, and it prompted me to think about another Australian band from the time. INXS was never my favorite band, but I quite liked them during the 80s, and saw them at least twice in concert. I started listening to them circa 1983 or 1984, and part of that had to do with a guy, my lab partner in chemistry class, who was a huge fan. A huge fan.
As funny as he was, the guy was kind of a jerk. But, I do not hold that against him. I had a passion for music and specific groups and despite the common ground, that certainly doesn't mean we all have to be friends. The thing that was cool about this guy is that he was quick to point out how good the early INXS stuff was. And he was right.
INXS did not really hit the US until 1986, so I was a little ahead of the game. The particular album was quite successful stateside, as was their follow up in 1987. However, I was already kind of moving on from the group, as my tastes were constantly broadening and diversifying.
The album that did it for me was Shabooh Shoobah, from 1982. For an album experience, it was just pretty darn good from start to finish. And the final track, "Don't Change," is simply incredible.
Hand's down, "Don't Change" is my favorite INXS song, and is the song I thought of when I was exiting the gent's in the pub Wednesday night.
Whereas the song I listened to a couple of weeks ago (and mentioned in my last post) did nothing for me, "Don't Change" knocked me over right from the get go. It had all the elements that make me love a song, and this particular one remains a specific favorite.
Of course I looked at the "official" video of the song, which I never had bothered to do so many years ago. The video, albeit dated, was certainly fitting for the time.
Readers familiar with the band will recall that the band had all the elements fitting for being rock stars. They look like rock stars, especially the lead singer. (My chemistry partner had made a conscious effort to dress just like him, and actually did a fair job.)
As cool as that might have been, it was the music, rather than their appearance, that appealed to me.
When the band scheduled their tour dates for 1987, I was all over it, actually spending a premium to get slightly better seats in the venue. I had waited several years for the opportunity, and was keen to go see them, even if they were already dropping down my list of faves.
I was not quite prepared for the throngs of female fans that were there specifically to see said lead singer perform. Furthermore, I was not prepared that that the audience seemed to be familiar with only the latest release of the band, seemingly unaware that the band had already released several albums.
As you do when attending a concert of a band, you always have a little list of the songs you hope and expect to hear. I was looking forward to the show, but really only wanted to hear the one song.
Because I had pretty good seats, people, girls for the most part, seemed to want to share my vantage point, and as the band continued to play, my little section grew in size. On our row, there were probably 10 seats, but as the concert was coming to an end, there were at least 30 folks in the same area. I thought to myself, "this is probably the one time in your high school experience that you will be standing among 20 really attractive girls, so enjoy it,"
And I did.
It came time for the encore, and as we all waited in anticipation, I was the one person in the section that felt the electric charge as I heard the opening chords to the ONE song I wanted to hear.
No one danced more lively or sang along with more enthusiasm than yours truly, and it was a brilliant moment.
Only after the concert ended and the band left the stage did I realize that none of the people around me had ever heard that song. Clearly the song did not touch them like it did me. I sensed their disappointment, their confusion, but left it at that.
Shabooh on them for missing out. Shoobah for me for enjoying that moment.
see you out there
Bryan
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