So, about 10 years ago, when I moved from Winnipeg, MB to Windsor, ON, I never thought I'd be able to attend another concert of my all-time favorite band, KISS. (If you had to read that to know their history-SHAME ON YOU! And I hope you checked out every single link) That is of course, unless I was willing to go over the Ambassador Bridge, and catch them in Detroit. Well, that opportunity had never arisen until now and it's right here in town.
Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley and the boys will be putting on a show July 11 for their KISS ALIVE 35 World Tour-in full make-up and pyro and everything, awesome!
But the difference being, this time they'll be right here in Windsor. I won't even have to leave town, not even over to Detroit. Unfortunately, I couldn't avoid the scammers at TicketMaster.
Although the ticket prices were pretty steep ($276 CDN for two, after fees and taxes) and they were without a doubt the most I have ever paid for any type of event (except for WrestleMania 23 in Detroit where I paid $250 American-and that was just for one ticket) I wasn't about to let this opportunity pass me by. I think this is the one true case where money was not an issue. It's not that money was no object, mind you, but definitely not an issue this time. I HAVE to be there.
I first got a taste of the "hottest band in the world" when I was about seven or eight when one day just hanging around in my basement, I found someones 45 rpm single of Rock'n'Roll All Nite. So naturally, being a kid, of course I'm was going to take liberties with someone else's property. I gave it a spin and instantly fell in love with these weird guys with the make-up, but that guy with the tongue kinda freaked me out.
I would use a tennis racket, or my brother's T-square right off his drafting table down the hall, and air-guitar to every KISS tune I had. Seduced by the power of The Demon, TheStarchild, Space Ace and The Cat perhaps. My concerts rocked!
One night I saw them on the Paul Lynde Halloween Special, that was on Oct. 29, 1976. I only know that date now because of my recent purchase of the KISSOLOGY DVD set, which is totally awesome! (I still have to pick up volumes two and three) But I remember watching that Lynde special. But that had to be the moment that I first saw them appear other than on posters, album covers or magazines (not that I could read them.)Ah, television.
My envelopment to KISS must have really transpired when I found Destroyer at a neighborhood yard sale (yeah, I know, why anyone would "throw out" a KISS album is waaaay beyond me, too) not to long afterward. Then it was Love Gun and Dressed to Kill at my local Sam the Record Man. I got Rock'n'Roll Over, ALIVE! and Hotter Than Hell for the next couple of Christmases. Of course my mother fell for that old Knights In Satan's Service bit, but that didn't last long and she just let me enjoy them, God bless her.
Years later, I got Dynasty, Creatures of the Night, Lick It Up and Asylum for Christmas. Animalize, Double Platinum, ALIVE II and Crazy Nights came indiscriminately in between this and that. And of course, there was ALIVE III, Unplugged, Revenge, Psycho Circus and several compilation albums much later on, such as the aforementioned Double Platinum plus You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best and Smashes, Thrashes and Hits (I simply taped that one off of a buddy of mine mainly for the Eric Carr version of "Beth.") Kiss Symphony: Alive IV just isn't my cup of tea. However, I may still get the DVD. Ah, what the heck, maybe actually watching them perform with a symphony would be better than just listening to it.
I would love to get a copy of Jigoku-Retsuden, a Japanese-only compilation release, if just for the cover-art alone. Of course I must purchase the new, upcoming studio album (more on that later) To be honest, I never have heard one track from Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions (Again, some fan, huh?) And come Hell or high water, I am going to pick up their latest LIVE release, Alive 35. It's a compilation of the songs that are on the tour that I'm going to in July. They were recorded on the European leg of the tour. By the way, the title doesn't represent how may "Alive" albums they've released, it represents their 35 years in existence, silly.
Remember these were all vinyl LPs, except for Lick It Up, Asylum and Alive III; they were bought in the cassette format (and Smashes, Thrashes and Hits was, as mentioned recorded onto a blank cassette tape) Unplugged, Revenge and You Wanted the Best were the first KISS releases that were purchased on CD. If I try real hard, I can probably tell you exactly which one came first and probably even from what store. To this day , even though I am a loyal and true KISS Army soldier, I refuse to buy Unmasked and Music from The Elder. I think the KISS Army consensus world-wide is those two albums, unfortunately, blow dog. And for some reason,
I never did pick up the solo albums, wherein each member (Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter) recorded an album without any of the other members. Each album represented half an album of a five album commitment. Of course, Ace's sold the most. If I did any up (and I'm sure I'll cave) I'd probably only get Ace's. I've heard the others and except for a couple of exceptions, I just don't think they cut it.
My first exposure to them live was on March 9, 1985. It was for the Animalize tour and it was awesome! Not only was it my first KISS concert, but my first concert ever. My mother had gotten me the tickets for an early birthday gift. I went with my step-brother, who left me alone for most of the night to fend for myself against the unsavory types that frequent these types of shows. Okay, nothing happened, but still...
Most of the show was old stuff, so I was satisfied. They played cuts from... well, let's just say they played everything on Double Platinum, and of course "Heavens On Fire" from Animalize, as well as songs from Creatures of the Night, Dynasty and Lick It Up. Like I said, awesome. The line-up included Eric Carr (RIP) and Bruce Kulick (who did actually don the make-up himself for a very short time, adopting the persona of The Dog-a take, of course, on The Cat and a stretch to be sure) It was just three years (officially) after Ace's departure from the band. It also showcased Gene's wicked battle axe bass and Paul's mirror guitar. When the spotlight hit it, rays of light would go everywhere in every direction. Mint!
Gene did his blood-spitting and fire-breathing, of course.
The next time I saw them live was for the 1997 World Reunion Tour. I would finally get to see my heroes as they were to meant to be-Gene, Paul, Ace and Peter together again in full make-up and costumes. They played their classics, as well as some stuff from Psycho Circus. It was a big deal. I went to this one with my girlfriend of the time (she took me to Ozzy, so I paid for this)
It was pure adrenalin. She enjoyed it as well (as well she should have or I would have had to disown her) but I definitely was more appreciative of exactly what we were witnessing.
So you'd figure that once I saw the original, best line-up, I wouldn't, couldn't or shouldn't settle for anything or anybody less.But I think you'd be missing the point, this is a KISS concert, not a Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons concert. As both Gene and Paul have said multiple times in multiple interviews, KISS is an entity all it's own. They're not just a band, they're a brand (kings of merchandising) they're Americana, they're all things to all rockin' people. Now, having said that, would I support say, a "KISS II" with an all new line-up? Of course not. But since Simmons and Stanley are the founding members, and if they want to keep this going as long as they can, I'll be there and rock out as long as I can as well. And yes, it is for the money and a status check.
Now, I just saw an interview with Peter Criss in which he blasts the band for puting another man in the Catman's persona. I can't say I blame him, he is the Catman. The one and only Catman. Eric Singer is not the Catman and never will be. Nothing against Singer, he's a very good drummer and he's been a member of KISS since 1992, but both he and Tommy Thayer should have been designated with all new personas, just like Eric Carr did in 1981 when he joined the band. He didn't become a cheap ripoff of Criss (not that Singer and Thayer are) he was The Fox. I mean they couldn't have gotten worse than Vinnie Vincent's make-up. He was supposed to be an "Ankh Warrior," whatever that is. The boys actually had Vincent in Ace's make-up for a short time. Ace Frehley is not too happy with Gene Simmons nowadays either, but for an entirely different reason. By the way, here's a clip from May of last year on what Space Ace has been up to these days:
I've also read that the band is releasing a new studio album, slated for release in the summer. It would be their first studio album in 12 years. Waaaay overdue. But it would indeed be, you guessed it...awesome! On that, here is a juicy tidbit from Wikipedia. Informative site, but not the gospel. However, I have heard confirmation on it from both Gene and Paul in two separate interviews:
Late 2008 saw the band take another unexpected turn. Over ten years after their last studio album, and following years of denials about ever wanting to do a new album, Stanley and Simmons seemed to have changed their minds. In November 2008, Paul Stanley stated to rock photographer Ross Halfin that a new Kiss album is in the works, which Stanley would produce. Stanley also stated that the album would have a "real 70's Kiss sound" to it. On November 26 2008, Gene Simmons confirmed the information about a new Kiss album and said he expected it to be released in Summer 2009. On November 29, Paul Stanley confirmed to the official Kiss website that the band will be entering the studio soon, repeating the assertion that the new record will be modeled on the band's classic 1970s sound.Gene Simmons stated on the Kiss official website:
*Sorry about the white space. Since I lifted it from the Wikipedia site, for some reason, I can't close the gap.
"We've [also] been recording our first New Studio Album in 11 years!!!. Produced by Paul Stanley. And, having Paul simply decide things, works better. Democracy is highly overrated. Paul is kickin' ass. The material sounds great and Tommy and Eric are in great form. We have 4 tunes recorded. If you're a fan of our stuff from about 1977, you'll feel right at home. All of us have taken up the songwriting call to arms in the same spirit we once did -- without a care in the world and without outside writers. Nothing to prove to anyone. Just doing what comes naturally.
Ignoring fashions, trends and with a personal vow from all of us: no rapping. There are plenty of people out there doing this and they don't need four pale-faced guys pretending they're from the hood. Besides, I'm not sure how to correctly pronounce 'wassup."
Tommy is finishing his solo tune. Sounds great, I can tell you. And Eric is going to sing on the album. See you all there...Or maybe later!"
WOO-HOO!! And because I can't control my enthusiasm, here a re a few random videos, many of which, I have never seen:
| "Goodbye Peter" "Goodbye Ace, Hello Vinnie" "Unmasking on MTV" Gene and Paul interview-Part 1: Gene and Paul interview-Part 2: Here's that Paul Lynde Halloween Special I was talking about (God bless YouTube): Here's Paul giving some a-hole "fan" the riot act. Hey, they get pissed off too. Geez, I hate to see their bad side: My God, do you remember these? Or even this commercial? A-W-E-S-O-M-E! MSG Interview with Gene and Paul on KISSOLOGY-Part 1 MSG Interview with Gene and Paul on KISSOLOGY-Part 2 BBC Gene and Paul interview- Part 1: Part 2: Part 3: Part 4: KISS rules! That is all. |
