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Kisschief Managed
Jun. 28th, 2009 04:51 pmLast night we hit Summerfest and saw the KISS concert. Two 'newer' members (Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer) and three of the original members (Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, and Gene Simmon's tongue). I was not disappointed. There was lots of pyrotechnics, tons of fireworks, fire, blood, flames, and tongue waggling. There was even a guitar smashing -- I am no longer an 'instrument destruction virgin'! Anyhow... the show was GREAT. I can see why KISS is said to offer the best performance of any live band.
The concert went on for over two hours, and it was really set up like getting two hour-long concerts, one featuring mostly stuff from the Alive album, then a second hour of the 'hits', followed by flying Gene Simmons spitting blood on the audience and an encore that lasted much longer than anything I've ever seen (after the first hour, when the lights went off for a bit, they came back up and Paul said 'From the way I hear you screaming, I take it none of you want to leave. *pause* Good, because we don't have anywhere to go.)
It was awesome, and huge, and yet something about it had that intimate feel about it -- not so much the 'I'm just up here playing my set' thing, but the 'I'm talking to you, the audience -- no, not the crowd, I'm speaking to you individually'... were it not for the explosives and special effects and huge screens, one may well have been in Paul's living room each time the band paused and he said rather relaxed, 'This next song, this next song is about...'
Highlight: Paul yelling for the members of the KISS ARMY to hold up their children. Once produced on the shoulders of high-heeled face-painted members of the posse, he shouted to the little ones 'We were here for your parents, and we'll be here for you!'
Low point: Some feedback caused the screens to go haywire for a while - nearly twenty minutes. I wanted to tell someone in the booth, hey, idiots, reboot and it will work (which is what seems to have been done eventually). You can bet that Gene Simmons had his foot up someone's ass over that (and a Godzilla boot up the ass is no picnic).
Oddest moment: Crazy lady in the seat next to Mark shouting for some girls who were six rows up to sit down during the opening act, Chevelle. Now, I can understand if KISS had booked, say, Andrea Bocelli to open, that maybe standing up and dancing wouldn't be the expected thing. HOWEVER, I wouldn't expect KISS to book Bocelli, and so I would expect, that even during the opening act, people would be standing. Crazy lady no like. She yelled for them to sit down, had a disagreement with the gentleman in front of her, who I heard finally say, 'look, lady, I sat down, what else do you want?', and was generally not a happy person. When KISS came on? She was glaring death rays at people standing -- which, was everyone. Her husband was unable to make her happy, and they ended up leaving after about a half hour of her standing grumpily in front of him with her hands over her ears.
Note: Do not expect to sit at a concert of a band who has a hit song that states 'Get up - Everybody's gonna move their feet - Get down - Everybody's gonna leave their seat'. Also? Don't expect to be able to hear anything for at least six hours following the concert.
Best thing about a band that wears full face makeup: Easy to pretend Ace Frehley was there, even though he wasn't.
So - great concert. Strangely? Gene Simmons, still hot for a guy pushing 60 who wears more makeup than I do and has a drooling problem. I swear, it's gotta be the tongue.
And? Plot bunnies. Yes. I have adopted one. Don't be surprised if we don't see in Valinor at some point in the future a band called 'The Smiths' with Rog, Maeglin, Celebrimbor and Feanor in it. *nods* You, dear audience, get to guess who has the magic tongue. ;)
The concert went on for over two hours, and it was really set up like getting two hour-long concerts, one featuring mostly stuff from the Alive album, then a second hour of the 'hits', followed by flying Gene Simmons spitting blood on the audience and an encore that lasted much longer than anything I've ever seen (after the first hour, when the lights went off for a bit, they came back up and Paul said 'From the way I hear you screaming, I take it none of you want to leave. *pause* Good, because we don't have anywhere to go.)
It was awesome, and huge, and yet something about it had that intimate feel about it -- not so much the 'I'm just up here playing my set' thing, but the 'I'm talking to you, the audience -- no, not the crowd, I'm speaking to you individually'... were it not for the explosives and special effects and huge screens, one may well have been in Paul's living room each time the band paused and he said rather relaxed, 'This next song, this next song is about...'
Highlight: Paul yelling for the members of the KISS ARMY to hold up their children. Once produced on the shoulders of high-heeled face-painted members of the posse, he shouted to the little ones 'We were here for your parents, and we'll be here for you!'
Low point: Some feedback caused the screens to go haywire for a while - nearly twenty minutes. I wanted to tell someone in the booth, hey, idiots, reboot and it will work (which is what seems to have been done eventually). You can bet that Gene Simmons had his foot up someone's ass over that (and a Godzilla boot up the ass is no picnic).
Oddest moment: Crazy lady in the seat next to Mark shouting for some girls who were six rows up to sit down during the opening act, Chevelle. Now, I can understand if KISS had booked, say, Andrea Bocelli to open, that maybe standing up and dancing wouldn't be the expected thing. HOWEVER, I wouldn't expect KISS to book Bocelli, and so I would expect, that even during the opening act, people would be standing. Crazy lady no like. She yelled for them to sit down, had a disagreement with the gentleman in front of her, who I heard finally say, 'look, lady, I sat down, what else do you want?', and was generally not a happy person. When KISS came on? She was glaring death rays at people standing -- which, was everyone. Her husband was unable to make her happy, and they ended up leaving after about a half hour of her standing grumpily in front of him with her hands over her ears.
Note: Do not expect to sit at a concert of a band who has a hit song that states 'Get up - Everybody's gonna move their feet - Get down - Everybody's gonna leave their seat'. Also? Don't expect to be able to hear anything for at least six hours following the concert.
Best thing about a band that wears full face makeup: Easy to pretend Ace Frehley was there, even though he wasn't.
So - great concert. Strangely? Gene Simmons, still hot for a guy pushing 60 who wears more makeup than I do and has a drooling problem. I swear, it's gotta be the tongue.
And? Plot bunnies. Yes. I have adopted one. Don't be surprised if we don't see in Valinor at some point in the future a band called 'The Smiths' with Rog, Maeglin, Celebrimbor and Feanor in it. *nods* You, dear audience, get to guess who has the magic tongue. ;)
