Sunrise concert review: the quartet delivered 20 fan favorites amid a cascade of flames, fireworks and arena-shaking explosions
By Ben Crandell / South Florida Sun Sentinel
Photo by: (Michael Laughlin/South Florida Sun Sentinel)
Oh, what a magnificent tribe, you time-traveling KISS crusaders — the starry-eyed and studded, the tube-topped and acid-washed, young girls with blackened lips and cat-whiskered cheeks, middle-aged dudes with grease-painted faces, monstrous heels and high ponies (sorry, Ariana, but Gene has the most famous high pony in pop music).
While they may no longer party every day, the South Florida legion of the KISS Army came dressed to rock ‘n’ roll all night on Tuesday at the BB&T Center during a raucous concert that opened a new U.S. leg of the End of the Road Tour, which KISS has said will mark its farewell to live performances.
The unfortunate result of the decision is that it will leave the band’s dressed-up fans with no place to go. It is sad to think that the palpable joy which radiated among KISS devotees gathered at the BB&T Center, not to mention the brave fashion, will no longer have a place to be shared.
Say what you will about KISS, but for pure, rock ’n’ roll entertainment, they are hard to beat. A review? How do you offer a critical assessment of fun?
As founding lead vocalist-guitarist Paul Stanley pointed out, he and bassist-singer Gene Simmons have been performing KISS shows in South Florida for 45 years.
Accompanied by longtime guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer, they know what they’re doing, and what their fans want them to do.In a show that ran two hours to the minute, and encased in the full-on KISS regalia that launched a million lunchboxes, the quartet delivered 20 fan favorites amid a cascade of flames, fireworks and arena-shaking explosions of the type you don’t see much anymore.
The audience responded with its own eruptions throughout the evening, from the band’s aggressive opening with fist-pumping anthems “Detroit Rock City” and “Shout It Out Loud,” through lusty sing-alongs “Lick It Up,” “Heaven’s On Fire” and “Calling Dr. Love,” to such showstoppers as “Beth” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”
Thayer, in particular, was a monster on guitar. On “Lick It Up,” he and Stanley briefly wandered into the signature riff from the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” If only they had kept going.
Performing on a stage that included sections that would rise to great heights on an accordion-style base, KISS sounded good and looked good, even in closeups on the large video board behind them. Sure, they’re a little jowly behind the makeup, but Stanley, at 67, still flaunts his guns and Simmons, who turns 70 in a couple of weeks, still has his tongue, one of the strangest instruments in rock ‘n’ roll.
The final song of the final South Florida concert on KISS’ final tour was, fittingly, a nearly 45-year-old hit from their 1975 album “Dressed to Kill,” In a show that ran two hours to the minute, and encased in the full-on KISS regalia that launched a million lunchboxes, the quartet delivered 20 fan favorites amid a cascade of flames, fireworks and arena-shaking explosions of the type you don’t see much anymore.
The audience responded with its own eruptions throughout the evening, from the band’s aggressive opening with fist-pumping anthems “Detroit Rock City” and “Shout It Out Loud,” through lusty sing-alongs “Lick It Up,” “Heaven’s On Fire” and “Calling Dr. Love,” to such showstoppers as “Beth” and “I Was Made for Lovin’ You.”
Thayer, in particular, was a monster on guitar. On “Lick It Up,” he and Stanley briefly wandered into the signature riff from the Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again.” If only they had kept going.
Performing on a stage that included sections that would rise to great heights on an accordion-style base, KISS sounded good and looked good, even in closeups on the large video board behind them. Sure, they’re a little jowly behind the makeup, but Stanley, at 67, still flaunts his guns and Simmons, who turns 70 in a couple of weeks, still has his tongue, one of the strangest instruments in rock ‘n’ roll.
The final song of the final South Florida concert on KISS’ final tour was, fittingly, a nearly 45-year-old hit from their 1975 album “Dressed to Kill,” which sent the confetti-covered crowd on its way singing, “I wanna rock and roll all night and party every day!”
