First Midwest Bank Amphitheatre-Tinley Park, IL,
September 3, 2010
By Anthony Kuzminski
{Photo Credit}
KISS has never shied away from commercialism. While they’ve turned many stomachs over the years, I’ve rarely found myself disturbed by anything KISS does as of late. Why? It’s simple; they don’t hide behind a veil of superiority. Ask them about their ticket prices or meet and greet events and they divulge at length, largely because they put their money where their mouth is Towards the end of the band’s 140-minute set in Chicago recently, I couldn’t help but admit to myself that I’ve never seen them “call it in”. I’ve seen them with the reunion line-up, without make-up, in a small venue, large venues, co-headline with Aerosmith, indoors and outdoors and yet none of it seems to matter because when they hit the stage they always deliver. Case in point, their summer 2010 tour which is featuring the longest show of their career and to top it, they’ve sprinkled it full of songs not just from their make-up years, but from all eras of the band. If this wasn’t enough, $1 from every ticket is donated to the Wounded Warriors Project, a charity that benefits the United States Armed Forces. Plus all children are being let in free on the lawn with the purchase of one lawn ticket. This is a graciously remarkable gesture that helps ease the high-end prices.
Right from the moments where we video screens projected KISS backstage with manager Doc McGhee making their way to the stage, they were in the zone prepared to deliver another spectacle. Opening with the Sonic Boom track, “Modern Day Delilah”, bassist Gene Simmons, guitarist Paul Stanley and lead guitarist Tommy Thayer emerged behind Eric Singer’s raised drum kit and the mini stage spun out from behind them delivering them to the front of the stage amidst a flood of lights and pyrotechnics and from there it only got bigger and better. Throughout the course of 21-songs (old, new and rare) the band invigorated the crowd the way few acts can. When an act like KISS has been together as long as they have and considering the second coming of the band (beginning in 1996) now surpasses the first go-round of make-up debauchery, it’s easy to underestimate them. But the four members proceed and just pummel crowd after crowd. “Cold Gin” featured Simmons’ vociferous voice and gusto while Stanley roamed the stage performing his rhythm guitar in an assortment of positions (behind the head, between his legs, lying on his back). “Let Me Go Rock ‘N’ Roll” had Stanley playing a game of call and response with the crowd while Simmons delivered his famous fire-breathing trick on “Firehouse”. “Love Gun” with its interlocking Uzi styled drums and guitars delivered while Paul Stanley teased the crowd with a good chunk of “Whole Lotta Love” before the full detonation of “Black Diamond”. “I Love It Loud” highlighted the blood spitting amidst a flurry of smoke and dry ice where Simmons flies to the top of the lighting rig and performs the song as the 15,000 below gazed on. It doesn’t matter if you are five or thirty-five; you still find wonder in their performances. Even some staples I wish would be retired like “100,000 Years” didn’t feel recycled. Surprisingly, “Say Yeah” fits in with the band’s set and is largely unnoticeable to the uninitiated. Sonic Boom hasn’t connected to me in the year it has been in stores, but the performance encouraged me to go back to it. Only “I’m An Animal” fell on deaf ears. The other 20-songs hit their marks.
There was even some excavating into the band’s back catalog including a rather marvelous performance of “Crazy Crazy Nights”, one of their better 80’s offerings. This was a much welcomed addition to the set that had the crowd moving. The track may cover innocent ideas (i.e. believe in yourself but rock hard), but the crowd rapturously welcomed it. It was not a note-for-note reproduction but showed the band poised to update it without making it unrecognizable. No keyboards here, just a strapping four-piece conveyance tinted with a searing Tommy Thayer guitar solo. Considering how full of life it sounded, it makes you wish the band would offer up more rarities and therein lays my only complaint of the evening. With nearly twenty-plus studio albums, why not go one step beyond? Even if it was altering up four songs per show, it would persuade fans to attend multiple shows. You never would have known that Simmons, Stanley and Thayer weren’t in their 20’s or 30’s as they made a point to cover the entire stage ensuring one and all could see them. Furthermore, drum and guitar solo’s are about stroking your ego but give KISS credit, it permits junior members Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer to step out from the shadows and shine. It temporarily allows them to break free of the identities placed on them and flaunt their talent.
The encore opened with an acoustic rendering of “Beth”, performed for the first time in concert without Peter Criss, who left the band for the final time six-years ago. It may be blasphemy to some by having Singer sing "Beth", but I couldn’t help but feel the song had so much more passion not to mention integrity with Stanley, Simmons and Thayer plucking away on their acoustic instruments. The true tenderness came through instead of a mere karaoke performance. The downright vitalizing and fiery “Lick It Up” had a smattering of “Won’t Get Fooled Again” in the middle attesting KISS are not just robots, and on this one song they flexed more musical force than ten indie bands cram into a 75-minute show. It may be grandiose but they showcased a metamorphic triumph as the four members of KISS destroying monolithic walls of ignorance in the process. “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” had Paul Stanley fly out to a rotating mini-stage at the back of the amphitheatre. Tommy Thayer’s and Paul Stanley’s guitar reverberated with storming vengeance as the song’s one-dimensional riff was unyielding. Despite never being a staple, what was once deemed a disco throwaway grows with each performance going back to the 1990 Hot in the Shade tour. The 2010 version is much more gripping. Give them credit; the best seats aren’t necessarily “the best”. Capturing the show from further back allowed one to soak in the show completely; screens, pyro, theatrics, second stages and all. The two closing numbers, “God Gave Rock N’ Roll To You II” and “Rock N’ Roll All Nite”, brought the rousing evening to an end amidst a deluge of confetti, pyrotechnics, drum risers and riotous applause. When the ringing was still in my ears on the car ride home, I found myself awed with what I had just observed. I sensed their hunger, something I can’t say about every performer I’ve seen in recent years. You can be precise and punctual but can you express sincere momentum and zeal? Once money no longer becomes an object, where do you go? For KISS, it’s about proving the detractors wrong and giving back. There wasn't a sense of iciness to the proceedings but a collective experience.
Their underdog mentality still fuels KISS to this very day. Rock n’ roll doesn’t have to be socially conscious to be sacred. It reaches those heights through sheer will and determination. Whether it be Lady Gaga, KISS, Bruce Springsteen or Radiohead if they lift your soul, then they’re equally essential. One doesn’t have to sing about desolate surroundings to be reassuring. While I personally feel reflection is integral, it doesn’t carry any weight unless it cuts the pain from within. KISS is serving up an indomitable concert experience at a time when people need escape more than ever. Their songs may not be political and steer towards austere physical impulses but make no mistake, to the 15,000 in attendance in Chicago, it was downright religious. Stanley referred to the show as “church crossed with the circus” and while KISS isn’t really either, they find home in that spiritual space in-between.
Anthony Kuzminski is a Chicago based writer and Special Features Editor for the antiMusic Network. His daily writings can be read at The Screen Door. He can be contacted at thescreendoor AT gmail DOT com and can be followed on Twitter
Set List
1. Modern Day Delilah
2. Cold Gin
3. Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
4. Firehouse
5. Say Yeah
6. Deuce
7. Crazy Crazy Nights
8. Calling Dr. Love
9. Shock Me
10. I'm An Animal
11. 100,000 Years
12. I Love It Loud
13. Love Gun
14. Black Diamond
15. Detroit Rock City
16. Encore:
16. Beth
17. Lick It Up
18. Shout It Out Loud
19. I Was Made For Lovin' You
20. God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II
21. Rock And Roll All Nite
