Live Review: INXS with Del Fuegos at Memorial Hall in Kansas City, MO, August 23, 1986

Australians INXS touring in support of the superb Listen Like Thieves sailed through Kansas City for a superb live show. The band has garnered critical as well as commercial success since their debut in 1980.

With hit singles “What You Need” and “This Time,” INXS presented an assault on nearly all senses. Visually, they were as tight and progressive as their music, especially when observing their music videos. Included here is the video for “What You Need, a stew of stop motion animation and mixed media. The style is reminiscent of a-ha’s groundbreaking work for their video “Take On Me” a year earlier. Sitting in the eighth row, I caught a cup of water thrown into the audience by Michael Hutchence. Some dude offered me twenty bucks on the spot. I refused, but walking out of the venue, I realized I missed a great deal.

The Del Fuegos were riding on their second studio album Stand Up. Incidentally, “del fuego” translates to “of fire,” and they played as such.

Note: I met my future bride a little over a year after this show. Turns out she had been sitting two rows in front of me at this concert.