Okay guys. I am finally at a time where I can sit down and write about the show. First off, here is the set list:
Detroit Rock City
Shout It Out Loud
I Love It Loud
Firehouse
Love Gun
War Machine
Shock Me
Hell Or Hallelujah
God Of Thunder
Lick It Up
Black Diamond
Rock And Roll All Nite
So....no surprises there, nothing special for most of you, since a lot of you see Kiss constantly every single time they tour and what not. I haven't seen Kiss since 2004, so it was more of a special event for me. Plus, my step dad finally got to see why his step son is so weird.
I'll skip talking about the opening band. And skip the Crue as well (who were great, actually). Straight to Kiss.
For me, when the lights went out, and the opening announcement started, it was pandemonium. Texas crowds are so much more lively than the laid back, hippy/crunchy granola/Birkenstock wearing/Concord Pavilion crowds that I became accustomed to attending shows with when I lived in CALI. These people were pure rock and roll mania power. Not one person sat down for pretty much the duration of the entire show (except for my step dad, but he's old...and me during Shock Me, but more on that later).
Detroit Rock City, which to me should have ALWAYS been the show opener for Kiss, was gladly welcomed as the opening ceremony call to arms again, and seeing them descend on that light truss that is reminiscent of the Animalize stage was a real treat. It truly felt like KISS. It was really f'in' cool. I was really worried about Paul and his voice, before he stepped up to the mic. But all fears were quelled when he started singing.....Paul is back. And no, it's not perfect. I don't want it to be. I don't expect that. And my expectations of Kiss have never been very high. That is the nature of that band. Never expect anything. Enjoy the ride. Paul sounded really good, and still screamed, but without strain. He is apparently learning to work very well within the parameters of his limitations. He seems to have finally gotten the memo, because the in between song banter was kept very short, sweet, and to the point.
Paul actually brought back the old 70s line "if this crowd just loosens up just a little bit" and sounded like he was straight out of 1975. I'm serious. It gave me chills!
"Shout It Out Loud" was up next....I honestly think that this song should have been their true anthem, not RARAN....it to me is the greatest Kiss anthem of all time, and therefore would have worked better for me at the end of the show. That said, I really loved hearing it again. And, again, I stress that Paul is really singing well now.
Up next was Gene's vocal debut for the night, the ever reliable stadium rocker "I Love It Loud". I know people at the FAQ (and some here for that matter) are totally burnt out on this song. But you know what? I don't go see Kiss very often. I loved hearing it. The whole crowd was singing along, fists pumping in the air, totally had a mid-80s heavy metal stadium vibe during this song, and I felt right at home. I felt like a kid again. It totally rocked.
"Firehouse" was next on the slate, which is one of my all-time favorite Kiss songs ever, anyway. I grooved with 3 hot blondes in the row in front of me during this song. Had a nice sexual feel live that just brings out the bump and grind in some people. Paul sounded great, Tommy played Ace's solo with aplomb, and Gene blew fire....Electric church for SCB....the sirens at the end were so fucking crazy loud, that they actually drowned out the band, and even the whole audience. I liked that very much.
Next up was Paul's personal anthem, "Love Gun", the famous ode to his little man down stairs. Paul flew over the audience for this one, which is always fucking cool to see. The crowd went nuts. My step dad even sang along with the chorus and was groovin' out to it. I love that Paul still flies out over the crowd onto his little stage in the middle. A nice touch for people who aren't close up front to the main stage.
Next song was a surprise for me. See, as much as I love Kiss, I don't follow every single move they make, don't memorize set lists on the tour, etc...so I had NO idea they were going to play this one....Paul introduced it as "another song from out Creatures of the Night album", and I was like, holy fuck! "War Machine"
Hell yes! One of (if not THEE) heaviest Kiss songs ever. I'm surprised more people aren't into this song in general, but at the show, the crowd lapped it up, and more people than I expected were singing along. I was blown apart. So glad they picked that one.
Next up was either the guitar solo or "Shock Me", can't remember which came first....I will say this....Tommy's solo was fun. Obviously, he is still doing the Ace thing with the guitar rockets, whatever. The solo was interesting and fun. Nothing more, nothing less. Now, ALL THAT being said, when Paul introduced Tommy to sing "Shock Me", I got emotional all of a sudden and surprised myself by sitting down during it. I just couldn't bring myself to watch him sing it, and I guess it was out of respect for Ace. I don't care about him wearing the SpaceMan duds, but don't sing Ace's songs. He has a song to sing, and will have another one on the new album. Why Kiss can't get with it on that is beyond me. Let Tommy shine on his own AT LEAST with his own songs, if not his own stage character. We all know that the characters aren't going away no matter who is in the band, but the music? Why let Tommy record a song (or two) that he will never get to sing and make his mark with live? Does not make sense at all, and therefore, SCB refused to watch him sing "Shock Me". Which shocked me that I did that. It was instinctual, not planned, to sit out on that. Weird. From what I heard, he sang it just fine, but just on principal, my body refused to rock out for it.
Glad to be over with that part, up next was the new single, "Hell Or Hallelujah"......I was stoked to hear this live, which was really heavy and upbeat, and a nice shake up to the set. I think I was the only one in the crowd that new all the words to the song, but the crowd seemed into it. It sounded phenomenal, and Paul didn't disappoint once again.
Blood. Bells. Bass. Bat wings. The beast has flown. "God Of Thunder" was magical. Unbelievable. Highlight on that song honestly was Tommy's solo. All the lights in the house turned off except for one orange light that shined on him during the solo, and it looked straight out of a Don Russ Kiss bubblegum card. It had that magic look of old concerts during that one moment. A funny thing to mention is that When Gene flew up to the truss, his mic stand kept falling, and he had to keep catching it with his mouth to sing. You could tell he was getting pissed, and finally just let the mic fall to the ground, and flew back down. My step dad got a kick out of that and had a good belly chuckle.
Vinnie Paul was in the audience (front row), and Paul gave a shout out to him onstage, calling him "rock royalty"...LOL. Still, dude's a huge Kiss fan, and that was nice of Paul to do that.
"Lick It Up" was next, and again, those hot blondes in front of me got their grind on again, and I did too. It was a hot moment. Lot's of T&A bouncing and moving, and me in hog heaven. Don't wanna' wait 'til you know me better, indeed. Loved the extended Who riffs.
Paul did his little pre-BD guitar riffs, and the tired little Zep reference (but I didn't care, I was having too much fun), and we all sang along with the intro....one of the blondes was like, "wow! You are singing for all of us!!
" I mean, I was. I was singing every note, like my life depended on it, and the people around me were all really cool with it. They could tell I was an old school die hard, I guess. Eric Singer sounded great on this, and I loved the whole nod to the LOVE GUN stage show with the risers and cat back drop on the drum riser....it truly felt like an old school Kiss concert.
Then they did it. They pulled the curfew card...LOL.....as they did in San Antonio the next night (I had two close friends of mine who live here in town near me go to that show, and text me about the curfew, so I guess that is going to be a regular thing on this tour...LOL)
But....they pulled it off. RARAN was huge and explosive, and the grinding occured again, only harder than ever, more sexual, more everything. The place was on fire. Everyone went nuts. As to be expected for that song. And then, BOOM. It's over.
I am extremely pleased with the whole experience, and the shorter set list was fine. I don't see Kiss all the time. A little every now and then is fine. They did me pretty proud.
Hell yes! One of (if not THEE) heaviest Kiss songs ever. I'm surprised more people aren't into this song in general, but at the show, the crowd lapped it up, and more people than I expected were singing along. I was blown apart. So glad they picked that one.
" I mean, I was. I was singing every note, like my life depended on it, and the people around me were all really cool with it. They could tell I was an old school die hard, I guess. Eric Singer sounded great on this, and I loved the whole nod to the LOVE GUN stage show with the risers and cat back drop on the drum riser....it truly felt like an old school Kiss concert.
