Kiss News

KISS stunningly overwhelming in Darien gig

By Jeff Miers

Love 'em. Hate 'em. But good luck ignoring them.

For nearly 40 years, Kiss has reigned supreme over theatrical arena rock. Marrying the thump, wallop and strut of late 60s British and American guitar-boogie to a show blending the macabre, the over-the-top, the just plain fun, and the deafeningly decibel-infused, Kiss birthed a glitter, glam and greasepaint-adorned hard rock spectacle.

On Friday, the band brought its "Hottest Show On Earth" tour to Darien Lake and made plain yet again just what the critics have never gotten their eggheads around, but the little girls (and boys) have always understood - Kiss is rock 'n' roll fantasy writ large and played loud.

Of course some of those "little girls and boys" are now in their 40s and 50s, and many of them came to Friday's packed show with their offspring - themselves representing a new generation of Kiss fanatics-in tow. In a recent conversation with The News, band cofounder and front man Paul Stanley spoke of the Kiss audience as "a tribe," and reflected with obvious pride on the multiple generations of fans now flocking to the band's shows, in the process making this summer's Kiss tours one of the few to do solid business in just about
any market imaginable.
KISS stunningly overwhelming in Darien gig

By Jeff Miers

Love 'em. Hate 'em. But good luck ignoring them.

For nearly 40 years, Kiss has reigned supreme over theatrical arena rock. Marrying the thump, wallop and strut of late 60s British and American guitar-boogie to a show blending the macabre, the over-the-top, the just plain fun, and the deafeningly decibel-infused, Kiss birthed a glitter, glam and greasepaint-adorned hard rock spectacle.

On Friday, the band brought its "Hottest Show On Earth" tour to Darien Lake and made plain yet again just what the critics have never gotten their eggheads around, but the little girls (and boys) have always understood - Kiss is rock 'n' roll fantasy writ large and played loud.

Of course some of those "little girls and boys" are now in their 40s and 50s, and many of them came to Friday's packed show with their offspring - themselves representing a new generation of Kiss fanatics-in tow. In a recent conversation with The News, band cofounder and front man Paul Stanley spoke of the Kiss audience as "a tribe," and reflected with obvious pride on the multiple generations of fans now flocking to the band's shows, in the process making this summer's Kiss tours one of the few to do solid business in just about
any market imaginable.

Kiss has, for the first time in several tours, a new album to push. It has been even longer since the band had a new album worth pushing, but "Sonic Boom" is the band's best in-studio work in several decades. Not surprisingly, the quartet pushed the new stuff, though not too hard, with a total of three of the collection's songs sharing space with classics. One of them opened the show, in the form of the Zeppelin-esque boogie "Modern Day Delilah," as the band arrived on risers, the spectacle kicked off with a thunderous explosion, and Stanley commenced the energetic stage-strutting that he'd continue for the next 2-plus hours.

Kiss - Stanley, bassist/vocalist/ co-founder Gene Simmons, guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer - then busted straight into a trio of stone-cold hard rock classics, as former guitarist Ace Frehley's "Cold Gin" gave way to the full-tilt raunch of the early gem "Let Me Go, Rock 'n' Roll," and finally settled into the T. Rexlike glam anthem "Firehouse." Stanley offered his "Say Yeah," another "Sonic Boom" tune, and the additional muscle of the in-concert version eclipsed the studio track handily.

Then it was onward, as Simmons tackled what just might be his coolest song ever, "Deuce"; upped the sleaze factor with another of his finest, "Calling Dr. Love"; and then turned the microphone over to Thayer, who ably handled Frehley's trademark "Shock Me."

With the sole exception of the rather too glitzy and Bon Jovi-esque throwaway 'Crazy Crazy Nights," the set list was all killer and no filler, particularly the grouping of songs that slammed us all headlong into the encore - "100,000 Years," "I Love It Loud," "Love Gun," "Black Diamond" and "Detroit Rock City" commingled to form the finest 30 minutes of fist-in-the-air hard rock Western New York has seen in many a moon.

Western New York band DoDriver kicked off the evening's with a short set. As winners of a Guitar Center contest, the band took home the prize they'd probably dreamed about as kids - opening for Kiss.

KISS had been thinking about the end of the line.

Singer Paul Stanley wondered publicly about whether there would ever be new KISS music. He and Gene Simmons weren't sure how many tours they had left.

Recently, however, lots of things fell into place. Last year, the band released "Sonic Boom," making its debut at No. 2, the band's top chart position ever. Now, in the midst of the band's "Hottest Show on Earth" tour, Stanley said the band is looking to give rock 'n' roll to a new generation.

Question: What made you focus on kids this tour, offering four free tickets for kids in some cities for every single ticket sold?

Answer: KISS is naturally fascinating to young kids. ... With those tickets, we were just trying to make it a little bit more possible economically for people to come out to see us. Times are tough now. Our shows have always been more like a tribal gathering than a concert where fans are more age-specific. Our shows are more like a gathering of a secret society on a massive scale.
KISS had been thinking about the end of the line.

Singer Paul Stanley wondered publicly about whether there would ever be new KISS music. He and Gene Simmons weren't sure how many tours they had left.

Recently, however, lots of things fell into place. Last year, the band released "Sonic Boom," making its debut at No. 2, the band's top chart position ever. Now, in the midst of the band's "Hottest Show on Earth" tour, Stanley said the band is looking to give rock 'n' roll to a new generation.

Question: What made you focus on kids this tour, offering four free tickets for kids in some cities for every single ticket sold?

Answer: KISS is naturally fascinating to young kids. ... With those tickets, we were just trying to make it a little bit more possible economically for people to come out to see us. Times are tough now. Our shows have always been more like a tribal gathering than a concert where fans are more age-specific. Our shows are more like a gathering of a secret society on a massive scale.

Q: Do you feel the need to top yourselves with each tour?

A: Topping yourself can be done in all sorts of different ways. ... The way we look at it, any band with money can do a KISS show. We have to do something special. We have to raise the bar a little.

Q: On the current tour, you're playing riffs from "Whole Lotta Love" before "Black Diamond" and "Won't Get Fooled Again" before "Shout It Out Loud." Are you trying to introduce your younger fans to the classics?

A: Well, I didn't invent the wheel. There are other great songs out there, other great bands and music. ... I don't need to introduce anyone to the classics. I'm always floored that the generation starting with 13 and up seem more aware of Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Cream than any others. For us to be considered with them is the ultimate compliment to me.

Q: Does playing outside make the shows wilder?

A: There's a party no matter where we are. ... The great thing people know about KISS is that they always get their money's worth."

Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain

JOSEPH HUDAK For The Times Leader

If you thought this summer has been hot, just wait until Sunday night, when the self-proclaimed "hottest band in the land," KISS, brings its "Hottest Show on Earth" tour to the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain.

Lead guitarist Tommy Thayer says that moniker isn't just lip service. A KISS concert involves more pyro than a firefighters training school.

"If you watch a show at the soundboard, 100 feet out, you can feel that heat. But if you are on stage, you really feel it," says Thayer, who, for eight years, has gotten up close and personal nightly with the flames, flashpots and explosives that have become hallmarks of the KISS experience.

In 2002, the Oregon-born guitarist inhabited the band's Spaceman persona full time, after the departure of original guitarist Ace Frehley. They're big platform shoes to fill, but Thayer wears them proudly, especially when playing and singing Frehley's signature tune, "Shock Me," from the 1977 album "Love Gun."
Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain

JOSEPH HUDAK For The Times Leader

If you thought this summer has been hot, just wait until Sunday night, when the self-proclaimed "hottest band in the land," KISS, brings its "Hottest Show on Earth" tour to the Toyota Pavilion at Montage Mountain.

Lead guitarist Tommy Thayer says that moniker isn't just lip service. A KISS concert involves more pyro than a firefighters training school.

"If you watch a show at the soundboard, 100 feet out, you can feel that heat. But if you are on stage, you really feel it," says Thayer, who, for eight years, has gotten up close and personal nightly with the flames, flashpots and explosives that have become hallmarks of the KISS experience.

In 2002, the Oregon-born guitarist inhabited the band's Spaceman persona full time, after the departure of original guitarist Ace Frehley. They're big platform shoes to fill, but Thayer wears them proudly, especially when playing and singing Frehley's signature tune, "Shock Me," from the 1977 album "Love Gun."

"The reason I'm performing that still is because people know the song. And it's a good number for me to do as the Spaceman," Thayer says, acknowledging the fact that some of the KISS Army might consider the number sacred ground. "People say, 'Well, that's an Ace song!' And we remind them, 'No, it's a KISS song.' Everybody needs to remember that. So I proudly play 'Shock Me.' "

And therein lies the superpower of KISS, made up now of original members Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley, Thayer and drummer Eric Singer (who permanently replaced original skinsman Peter Criss in 2003): The whole has become greater than its parts. Regardless of who is underneath the iconic makeup of the Demon, the Starchild, the Spaceman and the Catman, the KISS machine rolls on.

"KISS is a timeless entity. Strangely and uniquely that is so. There is no other band like it," Thayer says. "The appeal of KISS is that you can see that it still works the way that it always did. New fans come in, and they see this band with this makeup, this incredible stage show and these incredible outfits that kicks butt on stage. That's undeniable."

As is the band's influence in crafting what has become the modern-day concert spectacle. Without KISS, arguably, there would be no Lady Gaga. From Simmons breathing fire to Stanley flying over the crowd, or Thayer and Singer's fiery musical face-off, the show is driven by many jaw-dropping set pieces.

" 'Shock Me' segues into my guitar solo, which is this kind of on-stage duel with Eric, our drummer," Thayer says. "We do some playing back and forth, and we end up blasting each other with rockets. It's a new shtick that we're quite proud of."

Thayer and the rest of the group also are thrilled by the reception for "Sonic Boom," KISS's first studio album since 1998's "Psycho Circus."

"The response to the album has been really phenomenal. Even the critics liked it, and they can be tough on KISS sometimes. But in this case, it's been great reviews, which has kind of stunned Gene and Paul," Thayer says. "It's great to get that kind of positive feedback. And the fans love it, which is most important."

Sonic Boom also is the first KISS record to fully showcase Thayer's talents. He contributed some guitar to "Psycho Circus," but Sonic Boom marks his studio debut as a full-fledged member.

"It was really my first opportunity to shine. I was able to interject a little bit more Tommy Thayer into it and make it a little bit more mine, which is a big step," he says. "But at the same time, we wanted to make a KISS record that sounded like a classic KISS record. Not in a retro way, but in a true-to-form way of what KISS really is. I think we accomplished that."

Thayer says three "Boom" tunes are in the current set list, and one even has the coveted spot of opening the show. Still, he reveals his favorite "oldie" to play is "100,000 Years," from the band�s 1974 self-titled debut.

"It's a great song that features the lead guitar a lot. It's almost a jam song."

And Thayer admits he is conscious of how Frehley originally played the tune when he's performing it on stage.

"When I play a classic KISS song, I want to play it as true to form as I can. I'm a big believer that when a band plays live, it's really important to play the song the way it was originally written and recorded," he says. "I don't like it when guys come out and start throwing their whole new twist on things. It's not what people really want to hear. They want to hear it the way it's supposed to be."

For some concertgoers, however, the way they'll hear it Sunday will be the way "it's supposed to be," simply because they have nothing else to compare it to.

"There's a huge resurgence right now with all these new fans coming out - young kids and teenagers," Thayer says. "It's a whole new generation."

In other words, fans who are about to experience their very first KISS.