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Rock Star: INXS: Episode 1

by Deidre Woollard, posted Jul 12th 2005 1:12AM

Full disclosure one: I was a huge INXS fan back in the 1980s. Full disclosure two: I'm a big fan of Dave Navarro and have recently seen him in concert with his new band in Los Angeles several times. That said, I think I was looking forward to this show more than any other reality show I have reviewed this season. The show didn't waste too much time on interpersonal dynamics and got straight into the auditions nearly immediately. All of the singers did fairly well, unlike American Idol we were seeing the culled contenders rather than the tone-deaf masses. And showing the reactions of Dave Navarro and the members of INXS did prejudice me toward agreeing with them, after all, they are the rock stars. The group of hopefuls is infectious, drunken and charming. In general the aspiring rock stars aren't too cutthroat, instead they are disarmingly earnest.

The elimination is pretty mild and comes from the INXS guys themselves. Dana gets the boot for being a bit too folksy and thin-voiced but the INXS members are incredibly gentle about the goodbye. And it's a fair one. In general all the performers are talented but it becomes a question of which one is the best fit for the existing band and which one has the charisma that will bring new crowds to the band. While the fact that the late lead singer, Michael Hutchence, was a male should prejudice the voting somehow it doesn't and it does seem possible that some of the throaty-voiced women could carry the competition.

While Brooke Burke doesn't do it for me as a hostess (yes, she's very pretty but she doesn't seem invested in the process) I think this show is actually pretty intriguing. Part of the reason for this is that the majority of the people involved seem to have a decent career already in place. In many ways the closest comparison to this show is "Project Runway" because the focus is on the product rather than the interpersonal dynamics thus far.

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cheryl

Yes, Michael Hutchence *was* the main attraction. And for the new INXS to work, the new singer will have to also be the main attraction. It won't be the same INXS - but that doesn't mean it can't work! Deidre, this is the best description of the show I've seen so far! And I love your description of the aspiring rock stars as "infectious, drunken and charming."

July 12 2005 at 3:55 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply

Tim Goral

This was an interesting show, and not the mess I feared it would be. Yes, the singers are clearly talented (and the backing band kicked major behind), but I fear that the result of this will ultimately be hollow and feel forced. The bottom line--and I mean no disrespect to the eight or nine Farriss brothers that make up the band--is that Michael Hutchence was the main attraction. Will the "new" INXS matter? I mean, face it, whoever wins is just a singer for hire to help INXS complete their already-in-progress album. It's like the guy who played bass on the last Rolling Stones tour (who was that again?), or the last singer to front Van Halen (you mean whatsisname?). Will the band "bond" with the new singer and make meaningful music like they once did? I guess we can always hope.

July 12 2005 at 2:13 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply