Letters

Kiss still the hottest band in the world June 29, 2011 by Ted Clarke Prince George Citizen [email protected] If you were one of the lucky ones, the 5,000 or so ticket-holders who saw Kiss blow away the CN Centre crowd with a flame-throwing, blood-spurting, mind-altering assault on the senses, you know what the rest of the city missed. If you weren't there, too bad. You probably missed the concert of the year. The tickets were pricey, at $175 for the good seats, $145 for the rest, but seeing how this might be the one time Kiss plays Prince George, consider it a bargain. Lead singer/rhythm guitarist Paul Stanley said the boys always try to give the crowd their money's worth and with a two-hour rock show they delivered on that promise. Theatrics has always been part of Kiss's act, and they're extremely good at what they do. The makeup, their stage characters and costumes, and the music are just part of it. The show started with a Google Earth zoom-in from space looking at the Earth right to CN Centre, all projected on two huge high-definition screens behind the band -- a classy introduction that made P.G. feel like we were the centre of the concert universe. The Kiss Army showed up in full force -- hundreds of fans who came wearing their Kiss T-shirts with faces painted just like the boys in the band. Stanley invited one young recruit to join him on the stage, just before launching Deuce, a classic from their first album. Gene Simmons, now 61, showed that advancing age means nothing. He still loves to rock, lumbering across the stage in his seven-inch heels, and his fans love seeing him at his demonic best. Firehouse ended with Simmons taking a mouthful of lighter fluid and igniting it with a torch handed to him from roadie (don't try this at home kids) sending a mini-mushroom cloud of flame up to the rafters. Wielding a bass guitar shaped and painted like an axe, Simmons took advantage of a quiet moment alone on stage to bite into a large blood capsule in his mouth, spewing the red liquid onto his guitar and armoured chest plate, then flicking his red elongated tongue at the audience before the band returned to play God of Thunder. Kiss gave exactly what was expected from a band that has sold 100 million albums worldwide in a career that spans 38 years. That might as well be 100,000 Years compared to the average lifespan of most bands. And yes, they did play that and a few other gems like Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll, and Cold Gin, from the Alive album that made Kiss famous. The Kiss lineup now includes Tommy Thayer, plucked from a Kiss cover band when original lead guitarist Ace Frehley left the band over creative differences. Thayer has fit right in as a guitar player and even took on the vocals for Shock Me, a tune Frehley wrote and sang for the Love Gun album. Under all that makeup, Thayer bears a striking resemblance to Aerosmith lead guitarist Joe Perry. Drummer Eric Singer has replaced Kiss original Peter Criss and started the four-song encore at centre stage singing Beth, a tune Criss wrote for his wife. In the afternoon soundcheck at CN Centre Kiss ran through some classics from AC/DC, Mountain and Led Zeppelin. In the show, Stanley started out the familiar chords of Stairway to Heaven but changed his mind, saying he would stick to Kiss classics and dealt out a polished Black Diamond. One of the high points of the night was Detroit Rock City, which Stanley introduced by declaring Prince George a Rock City. After a heated rendition of the song, Singer and his drum kit were picked up 30 feet into the air on a hydraulic riser. That might have been to escape the hot air thrown out on either side of the stage from propane flares that could be felt even at the far side of the arena. After encore versions of Lick It Up, Shout It Out Loud, The show ended with Rock 'n' Roll Al Night, Kiss's signature tune, and they pulled out all the stops. Strategically-placed cannons gave the crowd a ticker-tape send off and with Simmons and Thayer standing tall on their raised platforms the Canada Day fireworks were touched off a couple days early at the back of the stage. Opening act Bad City, a five-piece band from Chicago, did their best to overcome the fact nobody was there to see them. They took their name after meeting some scary people while en route to recording their first album, Welcome to the Wasteland, in a rough part of town on Chicago's West side. But aside from a few ghoulish-looking faces there was nothing scary about the CN Centre crowd, which took a liking to the band's better songs -- Wildlife, Do you Believe in Rock 'n' Roll and Take Me For A Ride. Copyright 2011 Glacier Media Inc.