The Days of Lore

KISS WEEK! Alive MCMXCIX

Friday, November 20th, 2009 | musiX, pdX | No Comments

Live: KISS and Buckcherry at the Rose Garden, 11.17.09

It’s interesting to think about the pre-show rituals for a KISS concert in 2009. There’s less beer swilling and doobie smoking in the parking lot, and a lot more face-painting with the fam before packing into the mini-van to head down to the arena.

I was standing in front of the stage with four other (real) photographers right before the show. I stared out into the large crowd … well, not just any crowd—the KISS Army! KISS Nation! Which is sort of the equivalent of Fast Food Nation (OK, maybe Applebee’s Nation). Lots of makeup. Lots of KISS shirts covering portly bellies. Lots of middle-agers and their kids. They forked out their dough (tickets are anywhere from $20-$126) and were ready for that 60-foot curtain in front of the stage to drop. As the final chords of Zeppelin’s “Rock and Roll” rang through the house speakers, those famous words cut through the darkness and the curtain fell. I immediately turned into a teenager.

Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons are large men—even without the heels. And 35 years in, they play their parts like seasoned actors in a Broadway production, rarely deviating from the script. If you’ve been to a KISS show before you know you’re going to get the classics: “Strutter,” “Shout It Out Loud,” “Cold Gin” (which these days is preceded by a PSA from Stanley telling audience members not to drink and drive) and “Detroit Rock City” (a song whose narrator meets his end after drinking and driving). All great songs. But how about “Love Theme From Kiss”? Or “Plaster Caster”? “The Oath”?

I’ve seen hundreds of KISS performances—four in person, many more on VHS and DVD—and I’ve heard the same between-song banter over and over and over. So I’m always looking for that rare break in the script. I finally got it about two-thirds into the show at the expense of a hooligan in the upper deck. Paul was about to go into his spiel about extended encores, when out of nowhere … “Y’all are gonna get to see me shove a light pen up a muthafucka’s ass.” Whoa. Paul, don’t forget there are children in the audience. Anyway, doesn’t this guy know that Stanley Eisen doesn’t tolerate lasers in his eye? After a short, one-sided exchange, the Starchild snapped back into character as if nothing happened.

KISS is a tighter band today than perhaps it’s ever been. Yes, it’s incredibly lame that drummer Eric Singer and guitarist Tommy Thayer are wearing Peter Criss and Ace Frehley’s makeup (couldn’t they have come up with new characters? Perhaps some sort of exotic bird? Maybe a panda?), but KISS’ new lease on life wouldn’t be possible without them. Especially Singer, who drums circles around Criss. Thayer’s a fine musician, too, though everything that came from his fretboard was lifted from the Space Ace.

Not to mention letting Thayer sing “Shock Me” is fucking sacrilege.

But it’s about recreating that classic show, which is still big and loud and fun. KISS has retained the best and most campy elements from the ’70s—fog, fireworks, ticker tape parades, blood spitting—brought into the aughts with banks of video monitors that flashed images of old album covers and graphics that followed along with the songs. At one point, the cover of Sonic Boom appeared overhead as Stanley directed those in attendance to head down to Wal-Mart and pick up a copy. A commercial? I guess it’s the KISS version of an indie band telling a crowd they have a merch table with shirts and 7-inches? Can we go with that?

But hand it to Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley for still knowing how to rock ‘n’ roll all night—performing hundreds of shows a year, for more than two hours a night. And for a couple of guys approaching senior citizenship, they still get around pretty well in those 7-inch heels. These guys are the Kings of the Nighttime World. The Knights in Satan’s Service. And though I found myself cringing a few times, a KISS concert is still the greatest show on earth.

Photos by Mark Lore

In memory of Mark Louis Arnone, Feb. 24, 1973 - Oct. 21, 2009

Tags: Ace Frehley, Eric Singer, Gene Simmons, KISS, KISS WEEK, live review, Paul Stanley, Peter Criss, Portland, Sonic Boom, Tommy Thayer

Do you love these?

Thursday, October 30th, 2008 | musiX, politiX | 1 Comment

I was a little testy the other day. Politics does that to me, which is why I don’t discuss it at length … and why I’m changing the subject back to rock ‘n’ roll and youth …

When I was 5 or 6 I received a 45 of Gene Simmons‘ “Radioactive” (B-side, “See You In Your Dreams”) from his 1978 solo record. I played it as often as I could on my parents’ hi-fi—you know, one of those stereos with a record player and an 8-track inside of what looked like a piece of furniture—until it was a crackling mess. I owned three T-shirts, KISS trading cards, posters, pajamas … and I wrote a letter to Santa asking for a Gene Simmons doll. I also liked Barry Manilow … but that’s another story.

I essentially grew up liking KISS in varying degrees—losing interest at times, defending them to no avail at others, and buying their records no matter how crappy they were. KISS hasn’t been good since 1976, save for Dynasty, (Music From) The Elder and Creatures of the Night … maybe Asylum for the production … sorry, still with me? And I will to this day defend them against those who don’t know any better, and I still insist that anyone who likes rock ‘n’ roll should own copies of Destroyer, Alive! and Hotter Than Hell.

KISS still isn’t in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. And Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley are still touring sans Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, instead playing with a career studio musician and the guy who used to fetch Gene’s coffee. Now they’ve released an album of re-recorded classics. KISS fans will eat it up … err, lick it up. It’s like television—who do you blame, the networks producing the awful shows, or the millions of people who watch them every week?

I recently listened to Jigoku Retsuden, which is available only in Japan and the Interwebs and was recorded with Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer. It definitely sounds better than some of those old tinny recordings, but it’s rather soulless and is no doubt another scheme to make a yen or ni.

But I want to know which version rocks harder, not from the standpoint of a bleeding-heart KISS dweeb, but from an objective, thinking, slightly uninterested person. I’ve taken “Do You Love Me” from 1976’s Destroyer, and I’m running it against the 2008 version. I’m also throwing in the Ralph Nader of rock if you will: a version Nirvana recorded in 1990 (it appeared on the rare tribute album Hard To Believe which also features covers from bands like Skin Yard, Smelly Tongues and the Hard-Ons).

It’s a warm-up vote before the big one on Nov. 4. Listen and e-mail your votes to mark@thedaysoflore.com. I’ll announce the winner Mon., Nov. 3 … it might be the most important pre-election election of your life.

“Do You Love Me” - KISS, 1976

“Do You Love Me - Nirvana, 1990

“Do You Love Me” - KISS 7.0, 2008

Tags: "Do You Love Me", (Music From) The Elder, Alive!, Asylum, Barry Manilow, Creatures of the Night, Destroyer, Dynasty, Eric Singer, Gene Simmons, Hard To Believe, Hard-Ons, Hotter Than Hell, Jigoku Retsuden, KISS, Nirvana, Paul Stanley, Skin Yard, Smelly Tongues, Tommy Thayer