KISS with TED NUGENT and Skid Row at the E Center, Monday, March 27; one performance only.
Guitarist Ace Frehley's prophetic tune, "2000 Man," fit well as Kiss made its final stop in Utah and played to a near capacity crowd in the E Center. This final tour, after 27 years in the business, is everything Kiss fans were hoping for — glamour, glitz, loudness, theatrics and memories.
In the Kiss tradition, the band — guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley, bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons, drummer/vocalist Peter Criss and guitarist/vocalist Frehley — appeared on a suspended platform that lowered onto the stage, as the band cranked up "Detroit Rock City" and then slipped into "Deuce" and "Shout It Out Loud."
The multi-level, speaker-laden stage was decked out in roto lights, spotlights, flash pots, fireworks and various lifting cables. Two huge panels of chase lights sat on either side of Criss' drum set and spelled out "K-I-S-S."
Stanley, who sported his vintage "Star Child" greasepaint, was in top form as he bantered with the audience. His energy never let up from the time he strummed out the intro to "Detroit Rock City" to the rocking closer, "Rock and Roll All Nite."
Simmons, whose face was also painted up and his body armed with his "Demon" reptilian scales, held nothing back. His tongue-flicking complemented his booming bass during such tunes as "Calling Dr. Love" and "Cold Gin." "Space Man" Frehley took on "Shock Me" and "2000 Man."
Then there was "Cat Man" Criss who, as the night wore on, hit his drums with more conviction. When the gig started, Criss seemed to go through the motions, but by the time he had sung "Beth," he was loose and frisky. He also appeared to be having a great time playing other tunes, such as "Black Diamond" and Stanley's "Love Gun."
Simmons blew his trademark fireball at the end of "Firehouse," and Frehley's guitar solos ended with either a rising, smoking guitar or a fire-shooting one.
Criss' final stance was atop of his hydraulic-lifted drum riser, and Stanley, not to be outdone, climbed onto a crane-suspended pulley and glided above the audience onto a small stage in the middle of the arena.
Speaking of flying, Simmons' "God of Thunder" segment featured the bassist rising to the occasion — about 40 feet above the stage. Cables lifted the fake-blood spewing bassist to the platform amid the light rigging.
Kiss gave its die-hard fans a show. And then some. During "Do You Love Me," vintage action images flashed of the band showing off during its illustrious career. Kiss couldn't have picked a better time to hang it up, stopping before the four band-members become an old-folks joke like the Rolling Stones.
Ted Nugent's flaming-arrow finale seemed futile against the Kiss show. But the guitarist cranked out "Free for All," "Cat Scratch Fever," "Stranglehold" and "Great White Buffalo."
Skid Row on the other hand was just loud. The less said, the better.