KISS/Buckcherry in Greenville, SC
By
A Headbanger,
Do You Bang Head?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009 @ 9:51 AM
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Reviewed by Frontburner (KNAC.COM Contest Winner):
First things first: Hats off to KNAC.COM for the free tix to this show; thank you very much!!
Like many of you out there, I too am a doubter these days; a Kiss doubter due to the many absurd blemishes on the name commited by mostly one band member in the last seven years. Not doubters in their live abilities, just in any shred of credibility. My favorite band for most of my life was deluted by a) merchandising (coffins, condoms, coffeehouses, etc.), a farewell tour that seemed more like a ploy to sell tickets, kidneystone Ebay auctions, the makeup controversy of putting new members in familiar faces, & the ultimate shame of being told that "Kiss could still exist even if we (Gene & Paul) weren't still in the band."
I couldn't bring myself to attend the "Rock The Nation" tour of 2004 because of such skullduggery. Is there nothing this whore won't stoop to? Perhaps to amend some fences, they actually got off their duffs & made a much-needed return-to-form disc called "Sonic Boom." It's head & shoulders above "Psycho Circus", their last attempt which again descended into chaos with the original band. No tour stops were in my neck of the woods so I then commenced to stop at KNAC's site daily since the announcement of tickets to be won. Lo & behold, I got the e-mail & we commenced on the 2 1/2 hour trek to Greenville, SC.
The Bi-Lo Center was besieged early on by diehard fans, many of whom were there for the meet & greet. There were still many in make-up & costume bringing their beloved souvenirs to be signed (everything from guitars, vintage albums, the infamous lunchbox, etc.). It was apparent that if Kiss' popularity was waning, someone forgot to tell the good people of Greenville, who seemed to care less. This is one of their bands & the naysayers can kiss our proverbial...
Buckcherry shot out of the gate with an tight, energetic set which lasted only about 30 minutes, but was chock full of their hits and a cover of Deep Purple's "Highway Star." Their repitoir alsio included Tired of You, Next To You, Lit Up, Rescue Me, Sorry, Everything, Talk To Me, & Crazy Bitch. Frontman Josh Todd was obviously enjoying himself & the sound was good as well. It would seem that they were allowed a sound check which is consistent with Kiss' reported good treatment of most of their openers.
The moment was here: "YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST! THE HOTTEST BAND IN THE WORLD... KISS!!!"
Explosions rock the arena as the band hit the stage as energetic & bombastic as ever with "Deuce." They look great & are ready to give the packed house their all. The sound is great, the stage is backed with staggered blocks of video cubes topped by Eric Singer's drum riser. Tommy Thayer does his best Ace impersonation on guitar & Eric must've been asked to dumb-down his drumming a bit as he's not as flamboyant. The pyro is the most I've ever seen them have (this was my 8th Kiss show) & during "Rock & Roll All Night", they dumped what seemed about 100 lbs. of confetti from four barrels around the perimeter of the floor section. That song is by far the most overplayed in Kiss' catalog, but I've not enjoyed it that much in years. Tommy does Ace's flying guitar & shooting at the roof tricks at the end of "Shock Me", but they stop short of allowing him to do the smoking guitar. This is the only part of the show I didn't care for. Tommy's a really good guitarist & it's a shame he has to make his living being someone else, but I'm sure he's not complaining about his lot in life nor specifically his paycheck. Eric's drum solo features a spinning riser not seen since the day of Tommy Lee's spectacles. Funny enough, a drunk girl sitting near me was heard to say "He's still got it, WHOOO!" I hope she realizes that this isn't Peter Criss. SHEESH! So much for diehards.
They stuck primarily to selections from "Alive" as they are still billing this as the Alive 35 tour, but didn't play it in its entirety. Only one non-makeup era song made the cut (Lick It Up) and only one from Sonic Boom (guess which one?). The band sounded really good & it felt good to hear the really old classics come alive again.
My bud & I agreed that the show was much better than we expected. Dare I say it was spectacular! The free tickets only enhanced this belief. We left as happy as Bill Clinton at the Chicken Ranch on an expense account.
SET LIST (not in order):
DEUCE
CALLING DR. LOVE
STRUTTER
HOTTER THAN HELL (FIRE-BREATHING)
PARASITE
SHE
100,000 YEARS (DRUM SOLO)
BLACK DIAMOND
ROCK & ROLL ALL NIGHT
LET ME GO ROCK & ROLL
DETROIT ROCK CITY
SHOUT IT OUT LOUD
LOVE GUN (PAUL FLIES)
SHOCK ME (TOMMY DOES ACE'S FLYING GUITAR & SHOOTING)
GUITAR TRICKS, BUT NO SMOKER)
I LOVE IT LOUD (BLOODY INTRO & FLYING)
LICK IT UP (WITH "WON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN" INTRO & CLIMAX IN THE MIDDLE)
MODERN DAY DELILAH
-BITS OF ZEP LICKS THROWN IN HERE & THERE FROM PAUL
docfeelgood - 11/29/2009 11:29:41 AM ace's new cd kicks ass.
MD2020 - 11/27/2009 4:10:23 PM Call 'em old, call 'em sellouts, they'll still be playing for as long THEY want to. I'm sure they'll survive no matter what the line-up is. I've only seen them once, but without a doubt the best "Show" I've ever seen. I gotta appreciate their longevity, especially with the massive shitpile of rotten bands that dominate the radio and the atrocity that is American I-Dull. Just got Sonic Boom but have not listened to it yet. Rolling Stone still around, but I got a free subscription to that mag through Amazon and it's nothing but disappointing. You want a good rock mag, Scrapmaetal is right, give Classic Rock Magazine a shot. It's a British publication and runs $10.00 so not cheap, but it comes with a CD and is one of the few magazines that are worth taking the time to read.
bosox1 - 11/27/2009 9:29:07 AM Just saw them last sunday in Oakland. when the scab played shock me i walked out. fact.
phrydom - 11/25/2009 6:30:47 AM Avenger, I tend to agree with you regarding Kiss. I was just glad to see Kiss made a righteous stab at making a quality album.
nero205 - 11/24/2009 11:13:08 AM i won the tickets for the nov. 17th date in portland oregon from knac.com and that show kicked ass! better than the reunion and the 99-00 farewell performance wise. wish they would have played god of thunder but it still fuckin rocked!!! got some awesome pictures to since i was 8th row!!!
scrapmetal - 11/22/2009 8:49:19 AM say what u want but RS is still at the top of the head in a day & age when printed mags are dying on the vine-it took me a long time to get past the pop culture shit (ie 90210,Britney spears,hip hop etc)but if you dont change with the times you are doomed in the modern day of print media.WOuld i prefer the good ole days of Ben fong-torres (see his santana feature reprinted in the new issue of CLassic Rock-a brit rag i cant say enough about)?Yes of course but thats just not the case.Just like the modern day Kiss,you may prefere the original version but take what you can get 0criss & frehly could never have produced an album of sonic Boom's calibre at this stage of their careers.as for Buckcherry,they are one of the few bright spots left in the LA rock scene & one of the best live shows ive attended this decade in a club setting.
Avengerkiller - 11/18/2009 9:50:44 PM The new album's good but not great. Revenge will still be the last great Kiss album and I think that's how it should be, because you can tell Kiss was hungry on that album they were a real band then. I'd have preferred to hear "All for the Glory" on the his tour rather than Modern Day Delilah (or just play more than one new song in the set..yeah I know it's Alive 35 though), it's just a better Kiss song. Looks like they've scrapped Unholy for Gene's solo and gone with I Love It Loud. The weirdest part of the new album is listening to Tommy Thayer ape Ace's playing right down to his phrases. That's one of the things that really ruins the fun for me. It's the first thing my mates picked up on too. Vinnie on the other hand, obviously held back on Creatures but you knew it wasn't Ace (even though Ace's face is on the album)and he wasn't aping Ace either. Different sound, different feel and songs felt different too..great songs. Lick It Up was a Vinnie tour de force and easily the best produced Kiss album next to Destroyer, Creatures and Rock and Roll Over. So by the time Bruce was recording with them, aping Ace's playing wasn't a concern. Sonic Boom's good..but could have been much better. The production actually reminds me of Dressed to Kill. As for Buckcherry, I couldn't give a toss about them. Josh Todd sings the same song over and over (and his vocals aren't great to begin with). Having said all that...I'm at the Staple's center next week with killer seats. So much for integrity huh? Fuck it..it's Kiss.
none1 - 11/18/2009 1:02:45 PM kiss
goin-blind - 11/16/2009 7:11:35 PM rs has lasted so long because jamm weener dosen't have a solid foundation, he blows with the wind, latest fad, he's on it, who cares what they said about a band a year or two ago, this is here n now journilism baby, most would say hypocritical, however jann looks at it as subjective. jann dosen't care about such trivial things as chartecher or ethics, he's got magazines to sell baby, regardless of content or historcial opinions he wrote long ago ( say within 5 years) in other words jann could review an album today and say it sucks, then 2 years from now write a full blown article on the same album he reviewed two years earlier and rave about it and the artist that made it, if the tide is right for it..most call this opurtunistic, jann refers to it as " timing"..so rolling stone may have been on the shelves for a long time, however in my opinion it and janns integrety is shot to shit
Glam_Chowder - 11/16/2009 9:41:18 AM I've heard the mag has gone back to more meaty stories and less about stuff that appeals to the young demographic. Admittedly I haven't read one in years. I've thumbed through a few at airports but always end up buying something else. The two-year subscription I had in the 90s was dreadful - more "GQ" and "People" glitz than music and politics. Yeah, I know you have to sell copies...but a "90210" cover story? Their reversals on bands like Led Zep who they trashed back in the day but gave a cover story to a few years ago and praised them as one of the greatest of all time...okay. I think they initially trashed Nirvana, too (and grunge in general), and now "Nevermind" is one of their greatest albums of all time. And their 2003 "Greatest Guitarists of All Time" was beyond embarrassing. I give them props for longevity, but "General Hospital" is still on, too.
scrapmetal - 11/15/2009 4:38:40 PM i have to disagree rs is the longest running mag that reflects all of modern pop culture great political (although mostly liberal) politics,movies,music,etc plus real crime stories that dont hit the mainstream media.editor jann wenner is definitely guilty of playing faves & holding grudges-the long running animosoty between him & simmons for one and missing the boat on a lot of major hard rock bands (ie skid row makes the cover for their 2nd album but ted nugent,rush & ac-dc never have).In regards to the advertising if the other mags could get these major clothing,liquor and other industry accounts believe me theyd run them its the lifeblood of the print industry but noone can match the readership numbers,longetivity & distribution of RS.
Glam_Chowder - 11/13/2009 7:14:29 AM I remember I had a subsription to Hit Parader and my friend across the street Rolling Stone. RS was always trashing our favorite bands - Van Halen, KISS, and even Led Zeppelin and the Eagles. A lot of it come to find out was personal animosity from the editors towards certain bands. They couldn't stand the fact KISS was massive while Patty Smith and the Ramones couldn't get out of the clubs. My sister bought me a RS subscription for Christmas in the 90s - I remember one issue with the Fugees on the cover and the title "The Future of Rock and Roll." Yeah, good call there - right on the mark. RS is a piece of crap - more clothing and tobacco ads than anything substantial musically.
topdawg - 11/12/2009 5:34:08 PM the setlist blows. Pretty much same one as always.
scrapmetal - 11/11/2009 12:44:23 PM i dont care what anyone says gene & paul have silenced the critics with the new album even rolling stone gave it 3 stars which is 4.5 in a hard rock rag
goin-blind - 11/4/2009 2:34:34 AM scrap..ya thats true, especially during that pieord of alive 2 to dynasty..fuck i still can't believe i got all american man and rocket ride mixed up..and i do it all the time, and i don't know why, the songs don't even really sound the same..
