KISS still has few tricks, treats left for audience
This article was published October 30, 2009 at 1:19 a.m.
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Could there be a better time of year to attend a KISS concert?
After all, seeing the band live, which performed its Kiss Alive/35 Tour at the Verizon Arena Thursday night before 10,453 fans is a lot like watching the Halloween movies. With the volume cranked high.
There’s plenty of plasma (Gene Simmons still spews blood). The same music always plays. The characters dress in all black (in the case of KISS, bling and platform boots too). Different players sometimes step in (Simmons and Paul Stanley are still there, but Ace Frehley is played by Tommy Thayer and Peter Criss is played by Eric Singer). They favor face coverings (makeup is to KISS as mask is to Michael Myers). Just when you think they’re finally gone (didn’t we review the band’s Farewell Tour at the arena back in 2000?), they always come back. And the entire effect is far more campy than creepy.
Still, witnessing is always a charge. If a predictable one. (The first part of this double feature: opening act Buckcherry, which rolled out 45 minutes of rockers like “I Love The Cocaine” and “Out of Line.”)
With a few new songs from the group’s latest album Sonic Boom fit in, KISS focused most of its two-hour set on forceful fan favorites like “Deuce,” “Lick It Up” and “Detroit Rock City.”
But the song “Black Diamond” was not as beloved as Stanley thought and fell flat as a sing-a-long when the audience didn’t know the words. “We were great. You sucked,” he joked in his New York accent.
It wasn’t shocking when band members play their instruments behind their heads. And when sparks shot out of a guitar. And when Simmons repeatedly unfurled his serpentine tongue. And when fire bursts punctuated performances. And when Thayer banged out his solo from a raised and rotating platform. And when confetti snow blanketed the crowd for “Rock and Roll All Nite.” Such events are anticipated traditions.
But if Simmons previously rose up into the rafters to play and if Stanley flew over the crowd to perform on a stage in the back, we had forgotten. Those tricks were treats to us.
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TonyS says... October 30, 2009 at 9:47 a.m.
Kiss always puts on a great show, but if your like me and actually know the music,that is what really makes the shows worth coming back to. Fake Ace and Peter are kind of hokey, but they play good. They also took out some of the usual's like "Cold Gin" and replaced them with lesser knowns like "Parasite" and "Watchin You".
Great Show.
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Lylianna says... October 30, 2009 at 11:14 a.m.
Gene always flys to the top of the light kit. He didn't do God of Thunder though, but it was a great concert as always. KISS is a great band to see.
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