Amazingly, I’ve never been to a KISS concert before even though I’ve been a fan since school (aaaages ago). So there we were, with the Kiss army and fans, 20 or so rows from the front on their 35th anniversary tour. Can you believe it, 35 years!!! I wore my KISS t-shirt (actually it was sesame street but no-one else had the same one!)
I thought the crowd would be full of oldies, but it was a mix of middle agers, 20s, teens and a couple of kids who couldn’t have been more than 12, with their dads. The opening act was Vanessa Amorosi (what the?), and she was okay, with a slimmed down look and a new album to plug. But we were there for one thing only…
KISS were worth the money – the show had pyrotechnics, smoke machines, paper exploding down from the ceiling, drum and guitar solos and fab costumes and platform boots. OK, so Gene Simmons looks a bit frightful in closeup with all that makeup, but the band are real performers. Paul Stanley is very lispy and was gushing about how Sydney was his fave place (apart from the US, obviously), and the new Ace Frehley (some guy named Tommy) looked exactly like Ace, right down to the hair. I think they must wear wigs.
They played all the hits, thank goodness, closing with ‘I was made for loving you’, etc. I felt like a teenager again, like, totally. Pretty good considering it’s been years since I used to rock and roll all niiiite and party ev-er-y day.
Here are some pictures I took during the concert.
To top off a brilliant evening, we tried to find somewhere for late supper. Surprisingly, most of Chinatown is closed at midnight (or I didn’t know the right places to go to). Golden Century had a queue as usual, and Superbowl also had a wait. There’s no way I’d go to BBQ King, but we did find Super Meal opposite that satisfied my craving for congee. It was good and cheap and just right.
KISS! Wow! Sounds like a sensational show.
ReplyDeleteBut KISS - what a time-warp...I'm showing my age but when I first saw them I was completely scared by their appearance (the hide under the bed, don't let them get me mummy kinda scared). Then I'd hear a song, think that's really good, and, to my horror, find out that it was by KISS. I eventually came around. Now my only regular dose of KISS is playing Rock And Roll All Night on Guitar Hero :)
btw What's wrong with Vanessa Amorosi ? Absolutely Everybody knows that she Shines.
LM - Yeah, KISS are ageless, just like their fans! And I didn't know you did Guitar Hero, how cool is that? Vanessa did sing Shine, and also 'Long way to the top' (AC/DC). She was very rock chick and not bad at all, but not what you expect at a KISS show!
ReplyDeleteSo, Vanessa didn't sing Absolutely Everybody ? That is a great anthem song but perhaps lacking street cred for a reinvented rock chick... Now you mention it, the "What the?" makes perfect sense - Vanessa wasn't even born during the first KISS heyday.
ReplyDeleteDo you play Guitar Hero too? If so, we should jam together - or, more realistically, play co-op ;)
LM - Yes, she did sing Absolutely Everybody and really hit those high notes!
ReplyDeleteAnd I've never tried guitar hero though I used to play the 'real' guitar. I tried to learn 'Sure know something' by KISS once, but it was too hard!