INXS Play Live (Baby Live) In Toronto

They're baaaaaack.

When saxy INXS guitarist Kirk Pengilly and songwriter Andrew Farris came to Toronto last summer to promote the Shine Like It Does anthology, they promised that they would come to play Canada in the near future, so great was their love for this nation.

Well, they've kept their promise. Sort of.

INXS is indeed embarking on a tour of the New World. And they are indeed playing Toronto (July 4, Molson Amphitheatre, tickets on sale NOW)... but that's pretty much it when it comes to Canadian content. For the tour (and beyond?) the role of late, lamented Michael Hutchence will be played by new, sensational frontman Jon Stevens.

Stevens, former Noiseworks bandleader, and possessor of the delightful sobriquet "Rangi," has been getting rave reviews from longtime INXS fans for his work. And no, we're not entirely certain what "Rangi" means, but we're betting that it's probably Aussie slang for something dirty (they've all descended from convicts, you know).

We're kidding. Anyway, the Just For Kicks tour kicks off in Rio de Janeiro on May 14 and then proceeds to wind its way through Americas both South and North. But for the Toronto show (and for a handful of U.S. dates), the band is also bringing a special treat with them: great Scots (and fellow '80s remnants) Simple Minds! Don't you forget about them.

Although the boys have said to have been in the studio writing and recording new tunes, it looks like fans will be hearing a whole lot of classic INXS on this tour.

While big hits like "Need You Tonight," "Devil Inside" and, er, "Suicide Blonde" are safe bets, we're hoping that they add "Mystify," "Beautiful Girl" and (yes, we're serious) "We Are The Vegetables" to the setlist, as well. And if you're lucky enough to snag tickets for the Toronto show, have fun looking for lots of confused ignoramuses in the crowd to be making stupid remarks like, "Hey... these songs don't sound the same. What's going on here?" as they proudly wear their Listen Like Thieves t-shirts after leaving their homes for the first time in a decade.

Granted, things won't sound the same with Hutch gone, but the remaining band-mates are all tight musicians known for their showmanship. Before the hype (and after it had passed) INXS was always known as a live band first and foremost, and hopefully this will still hold true even with Rangi behind the mic, bringing something new.

Still, we're kind of hoping he'll recycle some of Michael's old mid and late '80s pants (glorious, skin-tight capital crimes against fashion that they are).

In other news, here's some inxsformation that may pique your interest: Gravelly-voiced legend Joe Cocker has covered "Never Tear Us Apart" for his new album, Respect Yourself. It's the first single off the disc, which will be released at the end of May in the U.K. and (hopefully) sometime around then in North America as well. The song previously enjoyed a resurgence of sorts last year when Tall Paul used samples from it in his track, "Precious Heart."

Meanwhile, INXS will also be re-releasing all of their post-Kick albums (the ones that the uncharitable refer to as the "has-been" years) over the next few months, complete with the usual remastering job and bonus unreleased tracks. Curiously missing from the reissue list is Full Moon, Dirty Hearts... although given that only seven people in North America bought that album (myself included, and it's a decent album, dammit), maybe its omission isn't a huge oversight.