KISS Alive 35: A Concert Review

If you ever had the opportunity to see KISS during their glory years in the late '70s, chances are every show you attended for a while afterward was just a little vanilla; that's been my experience, at least. Having seen them on their Destroyer tour at an impressionable age, most other live performances that followed left me feeling like I'd suddenly become a vegetarian after dining on steak the night before. No matter who the artist was or how good the music may have been, no other concert was an experience I could really sink my teeth into.

Several decades later - on the night of Oct. 28th, to be exact - I found myself not knowing quite what to expect on the way to the see the Alive 35 Tour at the Sommet Center in Nashville. The group had recently released Sonic Boom, a great back-to-basics rip-roaring rock record, but could this show possibly live up to the expectations of the teenager from years gone by? After all, this incarnation of "the hottest band in the world" didn't include original members Ace Frehley and Peter Criss. Would guitarist Tommy Thayer and drummer Eric Singer - both of whom have been playing with KISS for several years now - be able to fill the shoes two of my childhood idols while standing toe to toe with the other two? Would Gene Simmons, now the goofy dad from Family Jewels, be as convincing in the role of the Demon, or had reality TV made him soft? Could Paul Stanley still make an audience his bitch for two hours?

Any nagging questions I had were answered within the first 10 minutes of the show.

I was fortunate enough to be in the photo pit, which is really up close and personal. In fact, I was a little relieved when the two-song photo limit was up and grateful that I didn't get doused with with any of the gallons of sweat pouring off of Simmons. Sweat phobia aside, the classic "Deuce" - followed by one of my faves, "Strutter" - never sounded better!

My intrepid photographer Brenan Sharp and I took in the remainder of the show from a safe distance, but looking around I could quickly see there wasn't a bad seat in the house. This stage boasted more (and larger) video screens than ever. Then came the onslaught of pretty much every KISS classic you could imagine, including "Hotter Than Hell," "Doctor Love," "I Love It Loud" and even a tease of "Stairway to Heaven" that quickly turned into "Black Diamond." Even new tracks like "Modern Day Delilah" and "Say Yeah" melded seamlessly into the set list.

Through all of this, it seemed that none of the guys had missed a step. It's hard to believe that Gene and Paul are pushing 60! Paul, shirtless and still in fighting shape, ran around the stage commanding everyone's undivided attention, and Gene is still the fire-breathing, blood-spitting maniac that he's always been. Thayer and Singer filled the seven-inch platforms as if they were created for them, both performing lead vocals on songs that had been originally sung by Frehley and Criss, never missing a beat.

The guys "closed" with their anthem "Rock and Roll All Night" under a blizzard of confetti that made it nearly impossible to see the show. To be honest, I'm not sure that they ever left the stage before breaking into a four-song encore of "Shout It Out Loud," "Lick It Up," "Love Gun" and "Detroit Rock City."

Eighteen songs by my count; not bad when you consider that most guys their age had already been in bed for two hours by the time the lights came up.

Leaving the arena, you could see any number of fans with smeared KISS make-up flooding the sidewalks, still singing their favorite tunes from the show. I'm pretty sure everyone got their money's worth tonight. I hope so, anyway, 'cause who knows when the KISS Army will next assemble and have another opportunity to spill out into the streets at night?

For more of Blender's KISS experience, check out our concert slideshow here.