By Jay BennettPhoto by Luke Holwerda
The scene: June 28, 1996. Detroit, Michigan. For the first time, in 13 years, Kiss is playing its first show in makeup with the original lineup of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley, and Peter Criss. It's nearly midnight at the now-defunct Tiger Stadium, and despicable opening acts Alice in Chains and Sponge have long vacated the stage. Helicopters with spotlights circle the venerable baseball stadium as nearly 45,000 fans await the return of the "hottest band in the world." The band takes the stage, opening with "Deuce," then "Strutter", then "Let Me Go Rock and Roll," and playing two hours of classic 70s-era Kiss tunes, closing with, you guessed it, "Detroit Rock City."
Fast-forward 13 years to the "Kiss Alive 35" tour, which stopped in Glendale, Arizona's Jobing.com Arena on Tuesday night. Not a whole lot has changed. Kiss opens with the same three songs and closes with nearly the same encore of "Shout It Out Loud," "Love Gun," and "Detroit Rock City," with the addition of the 1983 hit "Lick It Up." Of course, no one at Jobing.com Arena is complaining. Like watching your favorite movie over and over to experience the same emotions, the same thrills again and again, seeing the rockers in their costumes provides a familiar sense of comfort to the head-bangers in the crowd.
Gene's voice is in excellent shape throughout the show (in fact, the "Demon" is on top of his game. He generates some legitimate chills during his classic blood-spitting routine, which appears before he sings "I Love It Loud" perched on the light stanchion high above the stage); longtime drummer Eric Singer far outshines anything Peter Criss ever did behind the drum kit and provides convincing lead vocals on "Black Diamond" and unexpectedly good harmonies throughout much of the set; and Tommy Thayer (now starring in the role of "Space Ace") bests Frehley in replicating the solos Ace made famous and exceeds expectations while singing lead (and sounding a lot like Ace) on Frehley's signature tune, "Shock Me." Paul gets points for being incredibly fit, perpetually in motion, and being the most flexible and active of the band, despite being nearly 60 years old.
The band gives the people what they want: flashpots, blood, classic songs, flashpots, fire-breathing, great costumes and frenetic light show, flashpots, and a high-energy performance. Gene proves why he is a consummate showman (Gene obviously really likes performing these songs); Singer and Thayer punch up the tunes with musicianship and verve often lacking in Ace and Peter's performances; Paul, over-the-top though he is, is in fine form, his voice nearly as powerful as it was three decades ago and his ability to jump, prance, and dance in those silver platform boots cannot be overstated.
Paul's climactic speech still seems genuinely extemporaneous when he tells the assembled that a Kiss concert isn't about solving the problems of the world, it's about rocking 'n' rolling all night and partying every day.
