Great To Be Alive

It was Music Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, the summer of 1984, one of two lucky chances I got to see INXS live in concert (the other was at Richfield Coliseum in 1988, for the "Kick" tour). I really liked the album, "The Swing", so it was a special treat when I learned a good friend from high school, who was two years younger, had scored tickets to the show.

He always found a way to stay ahead of me in his musical knowledge, which was impressive. For the most part, we had the same taste in music. He'd go down to the college streets by Cleveland State and spend all his time and money combing the underground record shops to find the rarest 7" and 12" singles, imports, radio-station cut-outs, things like that.

This was a small venue, probably only a few hundred seats. It was once a theatre, but I don't remember if they were still doing plays there at the time. Because of this, the ambience of the hall was great; deep red curtains lined the stage, the seats were plush, and their were two-tiered balconies on either side for a better view.

At the time, INXS still had only a cult following, even though "Shabooh Shoobah" contained a few big hits. This was the heyday of Madonna fashion sense, and since the tour T-shirts looked more like torn tank tops, there were a lot of layered outfits in some pretty loud colors.

The height of the show was two-thirds into their set, when they played "Melting In The Sun", the first single for the album, and a personal favorite. The crowd was pumped up by this time, and I remember looking at my friend during the song and thinking - what a great time to be alive. I had just graduated high school, not yet a man, but no longer a child. When I hear the song today, I remember a great night, a great concert, and a feeling of euphoria that has never been the same since.