St. Louis, MO - Media Reviews

KISS showed Saint Louis how to party Thursday By Sean Derrick

With the now famous phrase “You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world…KISS!” the curtain dropped to a fiery opening as bassist Gene Simmons, and guitarists Paul Stanley and Tommy Thayer dropped down from the rafters riding a giant movable light rig that is in the shape of a spider to perform “Psycho Circus” on Thursday night at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in St. Louis.

With that the band that was recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performed in front of a packed house of screaming rabid Kiss fans, also known as members of the Kiss Army. The Dead Daisies and Def Leppard opened the show.

Kiss has always been known for their over the top stage shows that keep fans interest glued to the stage with a spectacle of sight and sound.

Musically they sounded strong and tight, something that a band who is celebrating their 40th anniversary should be doing at this point.

Unlike Def Leppard, who didn’t issue even one photo pass and seemed stiff when they addressed the crowd, Kiss hammed it up for the photographers and knew how to play to the audience. It was pure showmanship at its finest. Stanley reminisced with the crowd about playing at Forest park during the KSHE 95 Kite Fly in 1974, as well as The Checkerdome and Kiel Auditorium, playing to the crowd’s heart strings.

But the main theme was spectacle. For instance, in the middle of “Lick it Up” the giant spider light rig came down to the stage, enabling Stanley and Thayer to hop on and ride to the rafters while playing The Who’s “Won’t Get Fooled Again”.

Traditions at a Kiss show rule the roost. From Simmons’ fire breathing blood spitting bass routine to pyro spraying out of Thayer’s guitar and Eric Singer’s drum kit rising to the rafters, the fans eat it all up. Their motto for a Kiss show? “The bigger the better”. The rabid fandom that is the Kiss Army get vocally upset if the band tries to tone down anything or take away one of their signature shticks. To this end the band listens and reciprocates. Why wouldn’t they? With packed houses for every show why change a good thing?

Thursday’s show was packed with goodies for the fans. There was Simmons’ “flying” up 30 feet to sing “God of Thunder” from atop of the spider rig, and Stanley got a ride 15 feet above the crowd to a revolving satellite stage behind the soundboard in the middle of the house to perform “Love Gun”.

Say what you will about the band but a Kiss show is a spectacle in and of itself, a fun raucous party atmosphere that is like no other.

The Dead Daisies opened the show with a vibrant set from the band that features St. Louis native Richard Fortus who used to play in Guns ‘n Roses. Another GnR alumni Dizzy Reed is also a part of the band, as well as Thin Lizzy bassist Marco Mendoza along with Brian Tichey (drummer for Whitesnake, Billy Idol and Ozzy) and guitarist David Lowry and Jon Stevens on vocals. Touring in support of their self titled debut album. The band has been getting serious play on KSHE 95.

Def Leppard held the support slot with a 75 minute set that read as a greatest hits playlist. The highlight of their set was the infectious instrumental “Switch 625”.

By Examiner 2014.

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KISS/Def Leppard By Jim Ousley

It was a particularly “metal” night, with the skies over Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre exhibiting enough thunder and lightning to give even the God of Thunder pause. This didn’t stop the 18,000 rock fans from packing the venue for the KISS and Def Leppard concert.

The Dead Daisies started off the night with a raucous set, entrenched in the classic rock–radio vibe of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bad Company, and Free. It was a homecoming of sorts for their guitarist, Guns N Roses axe man and Pale Divine legend Richard Fortus. His melodic solos cut through the mix as he ably struck every rock star pose like a boss. As usual, no one could keep their eyes off him, and by the time they played a scorching version of The Beatles’ “Helter Skelter,” the crowd could have cared less if it was the apocalypse going on, much less a thunderstorm.

Def Leppard took the stage with “Let It Go” from their multiplatinum 1981 album High ’n’ Dry, with guitarists Vivian Campbell and Phil Collen effortlessly trading off solos as “The Ricks” (Allen and Savage) kept the rhythm grooving like a well-oiled pop-rock machine. Joe Elliot, decades into the game, has a voice that maintains the classic feel of the old material, but enough kicked-around maturity to keep it fresh after singing these songs forever. The video screens were put to magnificent use, especially on “Rocket,” where they seemed to morph into a solid wall of 3D television screens, each transmitting pieces of rock history. From “Photograph” to “Love Bites,” the set was a veritable Top 40 playlist, with the crowd singing along to nearly every word. It was clear that the evening’s headliners had no issue with being shown up. And just how about those headliners?

Celebrating their 40th anniversary, as well as their recent induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, KISS made the type of bombastic entrance that only they could. Descending from the top of the stage on a giant metal spider to the tune of the Grammy-nominated “Psycho Circus,” KISS hit the ground running, with more pyro in one show than Verizon Amphitheatre has seen all summer. The spider itself turned out to be a lighting truss unlike anything I’d ever seen, changing shape and surrounding the band members, sometimes resembling a giant claw. The KISS Army was there to have a good time, so it hardly mattered that the set list hadn’t changed much. With classic songs like “Shout It Out Loud,” “Lick It Up,” and “Calling Dr. Love,” who needs deep cuts? The set wasn’t without surprises, however; it was a treat to hear “Hotter than Hell,” and an even bigger surprise hearing the under-appreciated gem “Hide Your Heart” from the band’s non-makeup era album, Hot in the Shade.

From Simmons breathing fire after “War Machine,” and spitting blood and flying to the top of the lighting truss on “God of Thunder,” to guitarist Tommy Thayer shooting rockets from the tip of his guitar, the band packed every trick in the book into the show. Lead vocalist and guitarist Paul Stanley got into the action flying from the main stage to a smaller stage in the middle of the amphitheatre for spirited renditions of “Love Gun” and “Black Diamond.” Stanley reminisced about visiting St. Louis over the past 40 years, even namedropping Kiel Auditorium and the Checkerdome before remarking that KISS has been pummeling St. Louis since “before a lot of you were even born.”

Looking around at the smiles and sing-alongs, it’s worth noting that that no one was missing former members of the band at all. KISS, like it or not, is an institution, and everyone was simply having too damn much fun to be pining for those who just can’t hack it any longer. With Stanley in fine voice, Simmons still stalking the stage like the lizard king of Transylvania, Thayer displaying his typically fiery fretwork, and Singer assaulting the skins with a precision and groove the band had never had previously, why stop? So, happy 40th anniversary, boys; don’t forget to stop by St. Louis on your 50th.

By Playbackstl 2014.

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