Kiss fans got together Thursday at the Utah State Fairpark to wax nostalgic and remember the good old days of their favorite band. The amazing thing about the '70s rock band, whose fans compare in loyalty to Elvis and the Beatles, is that they are still alive and kicking and producing new material.
The four dark-haired New York youths started more than a musical group twenty-plus years ago; they started an institution that has made history and generated a lot of memorabilia.Salt Lake fans, and some fans from other states as well, celebrated those years of music Thursday at a Kiss convention, a 23-city summer tour designed to reach the real Kiss stalwarts.
Admission to the 12-hour event went for $100, no small amount for an average rock-and-roller. Only 1,000 tickets will be sold in each city, but the crowd at the Fairpark never approached that number, giving the event the intended homey feel.
Loyalists really got their money's worth as they were treated to the daylong overkill of Kiss.
On traveling display were many of the outlandish costumes that helped win the group far-flung fame in the early years. Dummies with the famous and easily recognizable Kiss face paint sported the studded-leather jumpsuits, the monster-themed boots and the 8-inch platform shoes that haven't been seen since the band shed its makeup in 1983.
Hundreds of magazine covers from all over the world featuring band members were available for fan inspection along with lunch boxes, Halloween face paint, record players, sleeping bags and almost anything and everything else under the sun. A tribute band played, dressed in authentic-looking '70s costuming.
The real highlight of the show and the reason Salt Lakers shelled out $100 was because Kiss members themselves were on hand to get close and personal.
"It's time to cut the rock star crap," said Gene Simmons, bassist, sometimes vocalist and one of the band's original members.
They held a lengthy question-and-answer session with the audience. Fans asked about the band's personal life - yes, two of them are married and three of them have children - a variety of specific questions about songs in the Kiss archives and about the future.
Next came the band playing requests, still in the same mode as the Q & A session, but this time with guitars. Most songs were old favorites, and the band played a few of its personal favorites. This was Kiss unrehearsed, and band members readily admitted that they had forgotten a few of the tunes, but nobody minded as long as they heard a portion or even just a few chords from their requests.
The band just relaxed and let the intimate setting work its magic.
Especially energetic songs such as "A Million to One" earned an extra chorus or two.
"Do you like that one? Should we do it more?" asked lead singer and guitarist Paul Stanley. The crowd responded with a cheer as they did everything else.
Audience participation was important to band members, who sat casually on stools strumming their guitars. They let the audience sing as much as possible, trading lines on some songs. Since these were Kiss fanatics they could sing even the oldest and most obscure tunes.
Garth Brooks recently covered Kiss' "Hard Luck Women," and the band couldn't help but poke friendly fun at Brooks and country music in general. Then they played their rendition, which Stanley said was his favorite version.
Drummer Bruce Kulick got into the act with his singing from behind his kit, and then it was the audience's turn.
An assistant passed a microphone for different verses of "Christine 16," which Stanley called "Kiss karaoke." The band let its fans sing it solo, and they did a credible job.
They even called J.T. Lyon of Longmont, Colo., on stage and turned over much of a song to him. Longmont is a fanatical fan who traveled to Salt Lake to see the show since the tour wasn't making a stop in his state. He was dressed for the occasion, decked out in complete Gene Simmons garb from 1979's "Dynasty" tour, which he attended as an 18-year-old. His model of Simmons' rock armor outfit was convincing - but with 300 man-hours of work invested, it should've should have been. "It got me on stage. My whole Baptist church is behind me, I can't wait to give my testimony to them about this. It is not a fad and it is not going away. It is just like a family," said Lyon.
After Kiss unplugged, the band signed autographs on everything fans could bring them until everybody had been given a chance. The party would go on for two more hours, and then the heroes were on their way.