GIG REVIEW
Photos: Wojtek Gabriel
KISS , 9 May 2 010, SECC, Glasgo w
The crowd screams their guts out along to the "You wanted the best... You got the best... The hottest band in the world" introduction, the curtain falls down. Gene, Paul and Tommy appear on a huge hydraulic platform that lifts them over Eric's drumkit and then brings them down to the stage. They step down and the band kicks off the concert with "Modern Day Delilah", a track from the latest album which they promote on the current tour. The best imaginable rock'n'roll show/party/circus, whatever you'd like to call it, begins almost the exact same way it has for the last thirty years and from the very first second you know you will get value for money and more, whether it's your first time seeing Kiss or your tenth. Kiss has never been about perfect musicianship or outstanding vocals, but about the entertaining rock theatre, complemented by a soundtrack in the shape of some of the greatest rock party tunes ever written and the fans who gathered tonight in sold-out Glasgow's SECC to witness this theatrical/musical performance got all they expected to get from Kiss. Every band member presented their well known on-stage tricks and characteristics and on top of that the crowd’s eyes were pleased with such a vast amount of pyrotechnics. You should have seen the amount of flames, fireworks and explosions, it was enough for a couple of rock concerts put together, all unveiled for one night and one show. As for the tricks, you've probably seen it all, but to set the record straight... Gene breathed fire using a burning sword, spat blood, flew on the top of the light rig and obviously stuck out the longest tongue you've ever seen in your life. Paul swung the microphone, flew across the crowd to a small turning platform (to perform "I Was Made For Lovin' You"), made a speech about politics and the economy and how Kiss is not going to change the world, but play rock'n'roll (before the band launched into the Argent cover song "God Gave Rock'n'Roll To You") and at the end of the show smashed his axe (I wonder if he does it on every show on this tour?) after the "longest encore you've ever heard" (his own words). The two original members got the most attention obviously, but the guitarist Tommy Thayer and the drummer Eric Singer had their special moments as well. Tommy shot rockets from his guitar's neck and afterwards his axe magically (on a transparent string) flew up and disappeared beneath the lighting rig and Eric played a drum solo whilst his drum kit was lifted up and later shot rockets from a bazooka, plus directed the four final explosions after "Detroit Rock City" which closed the main set. On top of that, the fans saw great lighting and mirror ball effects, smoke lying just on stage and a confetti downpour at the very end of the show. The stage set itself was pretty big as well and consisted of two platforms on both sides of the stage, where the guys would often climb to perform on, the central platform for Eric Singer, a huge central screen, two big screens on the sides and dozens of small screens lying on stage where they played the actual course of events, but also some animations and movies, and photos of great rock'n'rollers (during “God Gave Rock‘n’Roll” to you) including The
Beatles, Janis Joplin, Jimy Hendrix, Eric Clapton etc. You’ll only get more tricks and effects during an Alice Cooper concert. The show itself went perfectly smooth and although there's no place for improvisation at a Kiss show and everything is directed and rehearsed to the limits, the spectacle you get is just perfect. The very important part of the show was the crowd obviously and the reception was overwhelming, as usual. Thousands of throats sung/screamed the lyrics along with the band, who interchanged vocal duties all the time. The fans, many of them sporting Kiss make-up, obviously had a great time, but why wouldn't they, when the band performed hits like "Cold Gin", "Firehouse", "Deuce", "Crazy, Crazy Nights", "Love Gun" etc. The song selection wasn't very surprising, but there are tunes that have to be played at a Kiss show and they were. The band promoted their latest release with just three songs and apart from the opener, the crowd heard "Say Yeah" and "I'm An Animal" and the aforementioned longest encore ever was a fivesong highlight which included hot versions of "Lick It Up", "Shout It Out Loud", "I Was Made For Lovin' You", "God Gave Rock'n'Roll To You" and "Rock And Roll All Night" when the crowd's ecstasy had reached its limits. Did they miss any of the biggest hits? Probably yes, but only because they have such an impressive back catalogue, that the show could have easily been twice as long. You could die of dehydration if you didn’t want to miss any songs, but you would never get bored. I'm not going to make efforts and think of a fancy conclusion here. You
wanted the best, you got the best, it's as simple as that. Kiss are masters of their trade and one of the rock world's biggest entertainers. You can only wish that some young bands existed that could please your eyes and ears the way Kiss does. If these great performers like Alice Cooper or Kiss call it quits, the rock world will become unbelievably poor. As long as you get the chance, catch Kiss live, whether you like their music or not. It's a must for every rock fan to see them at least once in a lifetime and take a part in the best rock show you can imagine. WOJTEK GABRIEL