Words Geoff Jenke
Jon Stevens has almost done it all in rock N roll. He had a hit album in his birth place, New Zealand at the age of 16 (however we can claim him as he became an Australian citizen). Upon moving to Australia, he formed Noiseworks and in seven years had countless hit singles and three hit albums. Since the demise of Noiseworks, Jon has released a further ten solo albums, sung for INXS and sung and recorded with the Dead Daisies. A perfect rock N roll pedigree. His raw vocal power that first won him attention as a teenager, still holds true nearly 40 years later.
Jon was back in Adelaide for the Best of Tour and told us to expect something from his whole career, Noiseworks to INXS and even Jesus Christ Superstar. However, in reality it was only Noiseworks and INXS songs with a brief tribute to Jesus Christ Superstar. Nothing wrong with Noiseworks songs, but he has had a pretty good solo career, which he ignored totally.
The Beach Boys sang “Two girls for every boy” in the song Surf City, but I think at Gov City this night it was more like 5 ladies for every guy, such is the pulling power of Jon Stevens. Jon came on stage to rapturous applause and launched into Voice of Reason, followed by Burning Feeling. The crowd erupted with the start of Love Somebody, joining in on the chorus, with the room full of mobile phones busy filming.
During Simple Man, the song slowed and turned into a reggae jam that was one of the highlights of the evening. Rain Down on Me was the only Jon Steven’s solo song that he played, encouraging everyone to purchase it online as all proceeds go to Australian Farmers. A worthy cause and a great song.
Welcome to the World was the outstanding song of the evening, with the band in full flight and Jon’s voice soaring to even new heights. He also told us a tale of attending concerts at the Arkaba Hotel in Adelaide and asked “Is the hotel still there?”.
Jon sang for INXS from 2000-2003, touring the world with the band. To acknowledge this, he played four INXS tracks, What you Need, Need You Tonight, Kick and Don’t Change. Unfortunately, he didn’t play the only song he recorded with INXS, I Get Up. Four songs were three too many. It meant for a quarter of his set tonight he was basically just an INXS tribute band. That said Don’t Change was powerful and brilliant.
The ride home was Take Me Back, No Lies and Hot Chilli Woman, all great Noiseworks classics. The encore started with a Jesus Christ Superstar medley. Jon was THE star of the 1992 Jesus Christ Superstar production and it was great to hear music from the show once again. He finished with Touch, thanked Adelaide and left the building, well left the stage.
You cannot fault Jon Steven’s voice, stage presentation, band and commitment to the performance. What I do query is why four INXS songs when he then leaves out, I Get Up,In My Youth, Testify and even the Dead Daisies song, Locked and Loaded, which he recorded with Slash.
Still, happy to welcome Jon Stevens back to Adelaide anytime. It’s always a good evening.
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