INXS announces 12-city cross-Canada tour starting May in Moncton
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at 19:05 on February 7, 2006, EST.
By NICK PATCH


Fans reach out and try to touch INXS lead singer J.D. Fortune. (CP PHOTO/Richard Lam)
TORONTO (CP) - INXS has hit the big time - again.

After opening their world tour with a successful swing through smaller North American venues, the Aussie band fronted by Canadian J.D. Fortune is moving up to hockey arenas. The band announced Tuesday a 12-city Canadian arena tour starting May 7 in Moncton, N.B., then moving to Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Kitchener, Ont., London, Ont., Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Calgary, Edmonton and wrapping up June 1 in Vancouver.

Fortune, who won the job on the reality show Rock Star: INXS, made his debut with the group on Jan. 18 at Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The band played Toronto's Massey Hall on Monday and Tuesday. Other concert dates were in the U.S.

The new leg of the tour is another homecoming for Fortune.

Fortune, 32, was born in Mississauga, Ont., before moving to Pictou County, N.S., when he was five. He lived in Nova Scotia until his mid-teens, when he returned to Ontario.

Coming back to Toronto has been emotional for the singer, who was once famously forced to live in a car during his time here.

"Seeing the city skyline ... just really warmed my heart," Fortune told a news conference Tuesday to announce the tour. "I used to take the GO train to come down here and shop my demo."

Now he's looking forward to riding in limousines to some of Canada's biggest venues.

After selling out back-to-back shows at Toronto's Massey Hall, which seats 2,800, the band will return three months later to perform at the Air Canada Centre - capacity: 20,000.

Fortune has already performed there once: he sang O Canada before a Leafs game.

Other big venues on the itinerary include GM Place in Vancouver, Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary and the Bell Centre in Montreal.

Since winning the CBS reality show in September, Fortune has done more than help his own career. He has jump-started INXS, which had stalled after the suicide of former lead singer Michael Hutchence in 1997.

During the news conference at a downtown Hard Rock Cafe, Fortune and his bandmates were presented with platinum albums for Switch, the band's first record in eight years.

His cross-country victory lap includes his first East Coast visit since participating in the contest.

"Playing back home, that'll be the point where I go, 'Yeah, I have made it,' " said Fortune, whose rock star status comes with an affable demeanour.

"I've gone all over the world and . . . (will be) back in my hometown, doing the thing that I started doing in my hometown."

Of course, there's a difference.

"The next time it'll be in front of 40,000 people."

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TORONTO (CP) - INXS Canadian arena tour announced Tuesday:

May 7: Moncton, N.B., Moncton Coliseum

May 8: Halifax, Metro Centre

May 11: Montreal, Bell Centre

May 12: Ottawa, Scotiabank Place

May 14: Toronto, Air Canada Centre

May 15: Kitchener, Ont., Memorial Auditorium

May 16: London, Ont., John Labatt Centre

May 26: Winnipeg, MTS Centre

May 27: Saskatoon, Credit Union Centre

May 29: Calgary, Pengrowth Saddledome

May 30: Edmonton, Rexall Centre

June 1: Vancouver, GM Place.


©The Canadian Press, 2006

"May 7: Moncton, N.B., Moncton Coliseum"

May 30: Edmonton, Rexall Centre

Hope I can get tix, this will probably be a sold out concert

luv4u said:

Get me a t-shirt!

althom said:

R.I.P. Michael Hutchence

althom said:

Orgnote me your size, if I get a tix I will pick U up one at the concert

I'm going to the American leg when it comes to KC - March 1st. w00t

I never did get to see Inxs with Michael, so I suppose this is the next best thing....