The KISS army is nothing if not faithful to its generals, and on Saturday, 20,000 plus went to war with rain, fog and an overactive smoke machine to rock ‘n’ roll all night with the hottest band in the land.
KISS headlined the Halifax Rocks 2009 festival on the Halifax Common and for over two hours the Demon, the Starchild, the Space Man and the Cat Man primped, posed and spat blood for an audience ranging from seven to 70 years old.
KISS is a band that is very much in tune with its core fans and those in attendance were treated to a main set crafted around the seminal 1975 Alive! album. Those of us interested in hearing an obscure gem from Hot In The Shade or Animalize knew we were out of luck before the first lyric of “Deuce” was flubbed by Gene Simmons.
And that was fine.
It’s almost silly to mention that music was played at all since KISS has long ceased to be about the songs in favour of the spectacle. Luckily, for those of us taking notes, the spectacle was top-notch.”You wanna see us blow some shit up?” Paul Stanley asked early into the set as if he didn’t know the answer. “No Paul, we’re actually here to hear Gene’s subdued vocal performance on “Nothin To Lose”…OF COURSE WE WANNA SEE YOU BLOW SOME SHIT UP!”
The band was happy to oblige, though I don’t think they were expecting mother nature to provide additional fog, which combined with an overactive smoke machine, occasionally caused the stage to become completely obstructed. This was especially upsetting during Simmons’ fire-breathing routine, something that I know happened, but was completely unable to see. Apparently, even with KISS, some things can be excessive—not that that would ever stop them.
No, if a stack of amps wasn’t on fire, then a guitar was firing off a rocket. If fireworks weren’t exploding into the night sky, then the drum riser was about to take off for space. It’s easy to forget that this two-hour pyromaniac’s wet dream had a soundtrack accompanying it.
And maybe that’s for the best.
While Stanley’s between song banter is the greatest thing you’ll ever hear (I urge you to hunt around for his bootlegged spoken word album People, Let Me Get This Off My Chest—a collection of his best work), it’s obvious that his voice is not what it once was. The notes don’t come as easily as they did in 1975 and sometimes they don’t come at all. Gene Simmons missed a number of lyrics, and while drummer Eric Singer and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer are very talented, there is something off-putting about seeing them dressed as original band members Peter Criss and Ace Frehley that legitimately takes away from the music. In essence, this incarnation of KISS is 50% tired out and 50% world’s greatest tribute act.
In spite of this, what never seemed to be lacking was the desire to give fans a show they would never forget. And as Paul Stanley flew over the audience on a zip line a few feet above, the classic pout in full force, wagging his finger and looking into the distance like the captain of the most ridiculous pirate ship ever to sail the seas, the crowd below transformed. No longer were they tired from standing all day, no longer were they annoyed by the constant rain, no, they were a group of 10-year-old kids, looking up at their hero, the greatest rock ‘n’ roll singer in the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band to ever grace the earth. A flubbed lyric? Who cares? A bum note? Not a problem. That’s not what KISS is about to the people that care about them, and those people got one hell of a show.
This article appears in Jul 16-22, 2009.
And yet another “reviewer” that just never got it when it came to KISS.
Your loss.
This is a thumbs up.
Why don’t people read the whole thing?
Kiss totally rocked in Halifax last night. I should know. I was there just as I was in the 70’s and they still have “it”! Woo-hoo. Rock on. I am a fan forever – and I’ve even recruited a couple of young fans. Amazing show!!!!!!
Tara, why would you assume that people have not read the whole thing.
I did, and my statement stands. The guy don’t get it. If that was a thumbs up, it was the most backhanded thumbs up ever written.
I have to say that as a singer / songwriter / publisher myself (with CD’s in store, radio play, 100 articles in print including reviews, etc. – not an expert of course but someone that has been on both sides of the stage) I (personally) disagree with the review in the sense that “in my opinion” Kiss were every bit as good from a music performance, vocal and timing perspective as they were in the 70’s – don’t forget they edited Alive to remove some of the parts they weren’t happy with back then and that was in their early days.
And yes, I did read the whole review, which I feel AJ probably also did based on his short comment, I simply disagree that they don’t still have it from a music performance perspective – this is not an insult or a questioning of credentials and simply a question – curious if Adam performs?
I went to see (Motley) Crue and a friend said “Tommy’s drums were out of tune and it ruined the whole concert” – in my opinion they weren’t out of tune and I was taken back by the comment – to perform live as a rock band and hit every note is challenging at best and it’s just a shame that their (Kiss’) playing gets criticized for the sake of an equally impressive stage show. I also feel that Kiss are super in-tune with their fans (as you indicated) but they also do care deeply about their music performance (as validated by their websites’ discussion of their hunger to put out an album as good as any before and also Gene’s mention of feeling they are playing the music as good as ever….on Family Jewels)
I agree with the review side that their stage show is (and should be) front and centre and also that it would probably be better if the newer members wore their own make-up style like they did before when Eric replaced Peter on drums (in fact, his make-up was one of my favourites) but I also thought their music performance was brilliant last night.
But then again, I realize it’s your perspective on the show and we all have ours (some probably loved some probably didn’t) and mine probably isn’t any more important than anyone elses’ – just wanted to express that not everyone felt the same way about last night’s performance. Oh, and I’m just a casual Kiss fan at best so this is not someone from the Kiss Army bothered by the review.
Yeah, I guess the spectacle somehow made people go out and buy 100 million KISS albums…could not have anything to do with the music, you dumb ass. I’ve been a KISS fan since ’75 – bought every album and guess what, I never had the chance to see them until last year…I guess the spectacle really made be buy those albums for over 30 years.. GET A LIFE..
I’m going to have to agree with the reviewer on this one.
I wont argue that KISS was (at their prime), and remains to be an exceptional musical group. No question. The fact however remains that they are not the same band they once were. I guess in my opinion, this band was one that brought new meaning to the old line about actions speaking louder than words.
It is one thing to sing “I want to rock and roll all night, and party everyday”, but KISS is a band that showed exactly what that looks like. Their pull, for me, is in their show.
I think what we should take from this review is not a jab at their undeniable musical talents, but the opinion that at this stage in the game, especially with a following as large as they have, none of that matters. No one walked away disappointed.
I agree with AJ, that was the most backhanded thumbs up I’ve ever seen.
Yes, Kiss is all about putting on a great stage show, but that doesn’t mean the music is sub par. Alive! is one of the greatest live rock records of all time, and that has nothing to do with stage theatrics, but everything to do with solid rock tunes. For more great albums, check out Destroyer, Love Gun, Creatures of the Night, Lick it Up, Revenge… This reviewer is obviously worried that “serious” music fans would not take him seriously if he complimented the show without taking a condescending shot at the music. Get over yourself, buddy. They put on a hell of a show, and they played well too. The review in the Moncton Times-Transcript was much better because it sounded like it was written by someone who was actually there.
Come on people. Lets not get our leather briefs in a crinkle. The man wrote that the “spectacle was top notch”. You got your pyro, your fire, smoke, your flying frontman. More smoke. This is the endearing legacy of the band. The music…..?
The musical anthology of Kiss will forever be a great
staring point for aspiring hard rockers everywhere.
Hows that?
KISS was awesome. The end
Does anyone out there know the head count for sat.night I heard that it lower than our old Beatle buddy.And also would like to say this KISS STILL ARE THE KING OF THE NIGHTIME WORLD!!!!!!
What a sleeper. That was a terrible show. There was a constant stream of people leaving the whole time.
The show of the night was at The Paragon. King Khan´s (repeated) version of “Rock´n´Roll All Night” and all of the other hot, party music from King Khan and BBQ made for a great night. And I paid 15 bucks for the show.
There is a clip of an interview with KISS before they go on stage at their concert last weekend at http://www.outtherewithmelissa.com…if anyone’s interested.
I was supremely entertained…and I am only a casual Kiss fan…eom.