Full disclosure, INXS is one of my favorite bands in the entire world. As a movie reviewer, I have frequently had to put my personal passions in the side car and rev on ahead down the road. That being said, witnessing the concert film INXS: Live Baby Live on the big screen was simultaneously breathtaking and heartbreaking.
As the film commenced, a blank screen featured a voice-over explaining that the band’s manager had the priceless foresight to spend the group’s fee for playing Wembley Stadium on July 13, 1991 to hire a camera crew. They would document “one of the biggest global sensations at the height of their power.” It is stunning. The group, with the late, great Michael Hutchence leading the way, had 73,791 fans losing their collective minds. The audience, through the band’s entire set, was eating out of the groups’ hands, while hanging on every note, every inflection … every single movement. It all comes through with pristine perfection in the concert documentary that is finally seeing the light of day.
Director David Mallet had the film painstakingly restored from its original 35mm negative, which also brought it into the new century by presenting it in the always awesome widescreen. It was an incredibly laborious effort, as filmmakers had to go through the footage, frame-by-frame, to ensure its cinematic resonance was worthy of the magnificent magic emitted by the band riding a wave of fame and popularity experienced by few in the cutthroat music landscape.
The Australian band saw their phenomenal global dominance end suddenly when their lead singer took his own life on November 27, 1997.
After having sold 50 million records, it might be easy to think that their success came quickly. It didn’t. They toiled for many years after forming in 1977 in Sydney, Australia. Slowly, the hits started coming in the early ‘80s, led by success in America of all places. including the groundbreaking Original Sin and the sonic barn burner Don’t Change. MTV certainly helped. With the arrival of 1985’s Listen Like Thieves and its glorious hit single What You Need, the band was catapulted to the forefront of pop culture where they firmly remained for over a decade.
It was 1987’s Kick, however, that sent them into the stratosphere. It contained four top 10 hits, Never Tear Us Apart, New Sensation, Devil Inside and Need You Tonight.
In 1990, INXS released the album, X, which was what they were touring to support when they scored the Wembley Stadium gig. They play many tracks from that record in the flick, which made it clear that yes, this was a historic gig for the band, but at the end of the day they were out on the road to sell their latest. It is one of their greatest recording achievements, so it was with utter delight and a whole lot of chair dancing that ensued as they charged their way through Suicide Blond, Disappear, The Stairs, By My Side, Bitter Tears and Hear That Sound. This was a crowd that was certainly in heaven with each of the hits that Michael and the boys performed live with magnificent mastery. Spotlighting the zeitgeist moment that was that period for INXS, several of those tracks were new to those 70-thousand-plus. Yet the reaction from those in attendance illustrated exactly what had been uttered at the film’s opening moment. They were at the height of their power. Every single song … confirmed hit or soon-to-be smash, it didn’t matter. This audience was enraptured.
Hutchence, guitarist/keyboardist and primary songwriter Andrew Farriss, drummer Jon Farriss, guitarist Kirk Pengilly, lead guitarist Tim Farriss and bassist Garry Gary Beers had bonded in such a way over the years that their moment on the mountaintop at Wembley showcased how tight these musicians had become. There was such a riveting and unspoken connection between the guys. It comes through every frame of the screen and permeated the theater in Live Baby Live. Another fascinating truth that is emitted throughout the film is that these guys really love each other. Fame can corrupt and ruin camaraderie that took years to develop, as history has shown us repeatedly. INXS’ individual personalities had seamlessly merged into something truly extraordinary. As Mallet filmed those six mates on that fateful summer evening in 1991, it now has been preserved for all eternity.
Film lasts forever, we’re often told in this business. A moment like Heath Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight and you keenly understand the sentiment. Considering how many movies writers like myself witness in a given year, it rare to walk away from a screening truly overcome with the full spectrum of emotions. It is especially infrequent that a cinematic seismic activity like this occurs with a concert film. Live Baby Live is one of those moments.
These Australian gentlemen had come together and delivered an out-of-body experience for all who attended the London concert, and now … for every soul who experiences Mallet’s doc. It’s hard to believe it’s been 28 years since that concert. The experience cannot be described as undertaking a virtual time machine that sends the viewer back—which can often happen with concert or rock and roll documentaries. Instead, it’s the most unusual of experiences in that it doesn’t transport you through memories that emerge from the cornucopia of INXS’ catalog. Instead, every second of the movie finds the audience firmly anchored in the present. Never was there a thought about the past or where I was when I first heard Devil Inside … or anything remotely of that ilk. That is the greatest power of this Live Baby Live, but it is also a testament to the command the band possesses.
Live Baby Live delivers is a perfect storm of innate talent, live performance precision, sensational songwriting and an enigmatic lead singer whose vocal prowess is matched by his supersonic stage presence. It’s a joyous journey through the band’s history, but every so often do not be surprised if you are confronted with a tsunami of sadness. Everyone knows why INXS ceased to be a “productive” band in 1997. The tragic death of Hutchence was like the heart of the group had been ripped out. Witnessing him parade around that Wembley stage is pure bliss, but simultaneously (in the oddest of ways) sullen. His stage presence is electric and off the charts. What else comes through is the incredible range and command of his vocal gifts. It is just uncanny. It’s one thing to be hauntingly handsome and belt out tracks where everyone knows every single word. It’s a whole nether ballgame to possess vocal authority to emotionally move 70,000-plus and countless who will experience Live Baby Live.
Ultimately, it is utter joy that overwhelms the sadness. I’m reminded of a quote often used by Dr. Seuss that fits this INXS quandary. “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.”
With Live Baby Live, that smile could easily become a perma-grin before the band’s last notes are performed on that historic day in London.
Grade: A