12-31-98 KISS |
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The greatest rock and roll cliche in history continues to roll on and over yet another generation and yes, another year. When I say cliche, it is with the deepest admiration. After all, it was the original version of KISS that invented most of the rock and roll excess that is the standard today. And beside that, who could appreciate a good cliche any better than your average concert reviewer, in this case, me? Having missed my chance to attend the first round of reunion shows it is with particular glee that I can report on the return of "The hottest band in the world, KISS!" Detroit has been the group's second home for twenty-five years and it showed in my quick survey of the audience. Every age group, from toddlers to grandmas, rocked and rolled all night despite the fact that they probably could no longer or could not yet party every day. The fact that this was New Years Eve was completely incidental. This was a KISS party and nobody does it better on any day of the year. As the curtains dropped and the flash pods went off, the soon to be classic lead track from the reunion album, "Psycho Circus," blew through the speakers and the crowd. The energy level could have lit the city of Detroit for a week. "Shout it Out Loud" and "Deuce" quickly followed and it wasn't until the opening of "Do You Love Me" that Paul Stanley gave the audience a chance to catch their breath as he greeted the crowd. Each time Paul asked, "Do you love me?" the immediate and deafening answer was always, "Yes!" All the advance promotion for this tour emphasized the 3-D technology that was to be employed and I must say that it was quite impressive. In fact, I would say that this technology has proved to be the single most exciting innovation in live concert production in years. To see Gene Simmons' tongue lash out at you in 3-D, that is something else and the crowd loved it. "Firehouse" raised the temperature as Gene spit fire across the stage then Ace Frehley kept the heat rising as he took the microphone for an absolutely electric version of "Shock Me." "Let Me Go Rock and Roll" and "Calling Dr. Love" kept fan's of the classic material fist pumping and foot stomping until it was time for the Space Ace to show us that blazing guitar of his. "Into the Void" is one of the best songs from "PSYCHO CIRCUS" and Ace has rarely sounded better. The included solo resurrected Ace's smoking guitar ritual only this time the guitar was sent flying over the stage leaving a jet exhaust trail in its wake. "King of the Night Time World" led into "God of Thunder" and more spitting by Simmons, this time blood, not fire. There must have been two dozen people coated with the sticky stuff as Gene was elevated to a platform forty feet above the audience. To see a winged man of his considerable size flying over your head and dripping blood was addictively frightening. Somewhat like the effect of a good horror movie, you know something is going to happen but you just can't look away. Simmons returned to the stage proper for "Within" and then gave the spotlight to Peter Criss and his hovercraft drum set. Criss' drum solo shook the platform so hard that it seemed in constant danger of falling to the floor. The platform survived but many fans didn't quite make it, most likely due to sheer exhaustion from trying to keep pace with the band. "Cold Gin" offered something new and exciting in that Gene and Ace traded lead vocals back and forth in place of the usual Simmons lead vocal. "Love Gun" and "100,000 Years" were gravy to the juicy steak of "Rock and Roll All Night" the latter being the obvious crowd raver of the night. The band stopped just short of finishing "Rock and Roll All Night" to count down the last ten seconds of 1998 after which time a blizzard of metallic confetti was dropped from the rafters. The end of the song was also the end of the main portion of the show. The encore came rather quickly and began with a solo Peter Criss crooning his signature song, "Beth", atop a pile of drum cases. Lighters ablaze and every voice in perfect harmony with Peter's, the audience was completely satisfied. Nothing more was needed but as I stated earlier, this is KISS and there will be excess in every form imaginable. Paul Stanley returned to the stage for his solo spot and treated the audience to his own extended guitar workout before heading straight into "Black Diamond." Eric Carr used to sing this in the Eighties but it never really had the growl to it that Peter Criss brings to it. At this stop on the tour it is only acceptable to either open or close the show with "Detroit Rock City" and since the opening was already spoken for, all the remaining energy, not to mention pyrotechnics, was spent here. Complete mayhem both on stage and off making the evenings entertainment worth every penny of the One Hundred Dollar average ticket price, and then some. There is a magic that is KISS, both indescribable and easily recognized even by the most casual of fans. The songs that these four have brought to the world of popular music are timeless and vital especially in these days of disposable, irrelevant, and anonymous pop stars. And God damn, can they put on a show! Where else can you see a world war's worth of fireworks and blood and not have a single casualty? All that and you get these cool 3-D glasses to keep forever! Goodbye sister disco hopefully for good this time. Review by David Lee IAN SCOTT ENTERTAINMENT MUSIC AMERICA MAGAZINE 9773 SANDYPOINTE FAIR HAVEN, MI 48023 810-725-6471 |