kiss live

A lot has been said about KISS over the years in the press, and not much of it particularly complimentary. Their records have been dismissed, their image ridiculed, and yet they still garner terrific support from their audience.

Their simplistic 70s rock ‘n’ roll based hard-rock and spectacular concerts have been overshadowed in recent years by the showbiz excesses of Gene Simmons’ ego, multiple flirtations with reality TV shows, their unashamedly exploitative merchandising campaigns, and the ignominy foisted on two original members by being replaced with people wearing their exact make-up and essentially impersonating them right down to their playing styles.

As a cynical misanthrope of advancing years, I had long since tired of their farewell tours, their subsequent reunion tours, and their mercilessly capitalist re-hashing of their back catalogue in an endless parade of nearly identical greatest hits compilations and re-mastered re-re-releases.

It has been all-too-easy to forget what actually put them on the world stage to begin with; namely the fact that as a stadium rock band committed to putting on a spectacle, they are simply peerless!

Exploding onto the stage with Modern Day Delilah from last years 70s-steeped Sonic Boom, the audience were treated to a thunderous barrage of flash bombs and dazzling columns of fire, as KISS arrived on a revolving hydraulic platform that came from the back of the stage and lifted them over the drum riser.

Simply put; I was transported back to the childlike wonder I experienced when I saw their gloriously rubbish Attack of the Phantoms movie in the cinema as a wide-eyed seven year old. As I watched them in the half-empty Liverpool Echo Arena, I knew full well that they were evil corporate whores, but it simply didn’t matter. They were fantastically entertaining, and gave 100% despite them playing to a smaller audience than usual.

They are pure showmen who know exactly what the fans want, and as such, they crammed the show with material from their classic early albums, Cold Gin, Deuce, Black Diamond with only a few songs from their 80s wilderness years.

Not a ballad in sight, they delivered a solid wall of stomping rock, with a dazzling display of video screens, pyrotechnics galore, rocket launching guitars. the obligatory comedy drum solo, Gene’s fire breathing, and the highlight of the show; Paul Stanley’s zip wire flight over the heads of the audience onto a rotating platform in the midst of the crowd, to deliver a chugging metal version of their disco hit I Was Made for Lovin’ You!

The encore was an extra half hour of hits including a superb rendition of Lick it Up and God Gave Rock n Roll to You and when they finally tore into the closing number, the obligatory Rock n Roll All Night, the audience where showered with an explosive five minute blizzard of tickertape which was as spectacular to look at as it was almost pathologically cruel to the poor sods who would have to tidy it up afterwards.

I have often left concerts with my ears ringing, but the sheer visually explosive extravaganza of a KISS concert ensured I left with my eyes ringing too.

Larger than life and twice as garish, the Sonic Boom Over Europe tour is an un-missable rock spectacular that for two hours at least, can take your mind off the grim misery of modern day recession scarred Britain. KISS may be a bit of a tired joke to some critics, and despite their baggage, they truly do give their all to the people who matter most to them: their fans.

Apparently there was also a support band; Breaking Dawn, but nobody noticed.

by Steven Hargraves