KISS
/By Clare McCabe
Artist: KISS
Date / Venue: Friday October 16th, 2015 - Vector Arena, Auckland
You may or may not have been at Vector last night. But if you were, you probably left with confetti in your hair. Yes there were confetti cannons. There was blood. There was a flying Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley on a zipline. There were flames and fireworks that co-ordinated with the songs. There was Paul Stanley's tasselled trousers and Gene's top-knot. Oh and the BOOTS on those guys. How is it even possible to walk on those platforms? So much to see. But I am getting ahead of myself....
Out front before the show I bumped into my 8-year-old friend Jakob. He was super excited that Kiss was going to his first concert (as you would be). Best dad ever I said to him. And to be honest there were a lot of kids in attendance. Minds must have been blown everywhere.
First up on support were the Dead Daisies with John Corabi (ex-Motley Crue) on vocal duties. They burned through a tight short set and finished with a great cover of Helter Skelter. Nice choice guys.
And then... You Wanted The Best. You Got The Best. The Hottest Band in the World. KISS. And they're straight into Detroit Rock City, fireworks and flames galore. The Demon and The Starchild are in the house and they are ready to rock n roll.
We get synchronised guitar moves (who doesn't love that?) Gene prowls around the stage with great swagger. Paul dances like its 1977. War Machine ends with some sort of smoking dagger arrangement. The big screen shows a fabulous vintage video/photo montage of Kiss members, masked and unmasked.
There are drum and guitar solos from Eric and Tommy. Gene and Paul take turns singing their hits. Dr Lovemakes an appearance and one of my faves, Lick It Up. Gene bleeds as only he can and is hoisted up to the top of the Spider for God of Thunder. Frightening stuff.
We are treated to lots of chat from Paul in between songs in that great New York accent. Then he hops on his zipline and swings out onto the little mini-stage in the middle of the arena for Love Gun and a few more chances to show off his fabulous dance moves. Glitter balls turn and the crowd goes wild. He returns to the stage for a little mini rendition of Shandi and then the evening goes crazy and the grand finale kicks off withShout It Out and good old I Was Made for Lovin You.
But the best is saved for last. The closing song is, of course, Rock and Roll All Nite, and you can barely see the crowd for the confetti. Flames shoot in the air. Guitars are smashed. Minds are blown.
We love you, goodnight, screams Paul. Actually I think the feeling was mutual at Vector last night. The crowd loved Kiss. End of.
Hey they might not to be everybody's taste but we sure enjoyed the extravaganza that is a live Kiss show. I may have seen Kiss many times in my life, but each time has been outstanding. Do yourself a favour and grab a ticket next time. Or perhaps book yourself onto the next Kiss Kruise?
Thanks for the evening guys. Do come again.