“It’s like a piece of leather… it gets tougher and stronger each & every year!” This was how Jon Stevens described his voice to me, shortly after leaving the stage at The Palms on Saturday night. This may have been the crudest of comparisons from Jon, but if his voice is leather then make me a pair of the finest shoes from that batch of cowskin right now!
After experiencing the incredible show he had put on this evening, I realised I had just witnessed one the great rock voices in the world on top form & with a quality set list of his hits across his career with Noiseworks, INXS & Jesus Christ Superstar. ‘The Best of Tour’ has been out on the road since February and it has taken 10 months to go full circle before returning to The Palms. In the modern age of props and elaborate stage sets, Jon showed how it should be done… with just himself, his outstanding band and some fantastic lighting.
It didn’t take long for the sell-out crowd to jump to their feet, as Stevens opened with four Noiseworks songs straight off the bat. Welcome to the World, Burning Feeling, Love Somebody and Simple Man (with Jon grabbing his acoustic guitar) got the crowd warmed up nicely for the evening, as Jon looked relaxed, at ease and happy to be home after a busy 2018. His one and only ‘solo’ song of the night, the recently released Rain Down on Me received a huge cheer as Jon explained how much the Rural Aid charity had made for the farmers & thanked everyone for their support. More Noiseworks singles continued to ‘rain down on us’ as Miles & Miles, the outstanding & emotionally charged R.I.P (Millie) and Voice of Reason were now greeted with almost the whole room on their feet.
An introduction about getting to join one of the greatest bands in the world was only going to take us to one place – INXS’s song list must be one of the hardest to select from but we were treated to four absolute crackers in the shape of What You Need, Need You Tonight, Kick and Don’t Change. I have to mention the outstanding band on stage with Jon – in our recent interview he complemented them not only for being incredible musicians dedicated to their craft, but as amazing human beings and this was felt & seen with the chemistry the band oozed tonight – and this chemistry is also an important factor for Jon, as he explains to the crowd the importance of love and how the world is not in the best place right now… he’s so right.
With bigger hits still to come, the anticipation grew as to what and when we were getting them. Outstanding versions of Take Me Back & Touch closed the set, with Stevens and his band leaving to a richly deserved standing ovation. With cries from the crowd, the entourage returned and got straight into the encores starting with a stunning Jesus Christ Superstar 2-song mix of Heaven on Their Minds & Superstar. And suddenly it started to dawn on the audience that we were closing in on the final songs of the night and you couldn’t have got much better of an end than No Lies and a pumping version of Hot Chilli Woman.
This was a night of pure fun and sing-a-long rock, from a performer who is getting better as the years tick over. Greedy as I am as a music lover, I was sad to hear no Dead Daisies or a couple of tracks for the incredible ‘Starlight’ album but that is merely an excuse to make sure I see this man live again…and as this was my first time seeing Jon Stevens I can assure you it will not be my last. If he’s in a town or city near you make sure you go to catch his show – you won’t regret it!!
Set List:
Welcome to the World
Burning Feeling
Love Somebody
Simple Man
Rain Down on Me
Miles & Miles
R.I.P (Millie)
Voice of Reason
What You Need
Need You Tonight
Kick
Don’t Change
Take Me Back
Encore:
Superstar Medley
No Lies
Hot Chilli Woman
