You wanted the best, you got the best. The hottest band in the world.....

KISS!!!! 

Yes, that intro has been around for years & it was still in use on Wednesday, October 28, as KISS took the stage at the Sommet center in Nashville, TN.  Below are random thoughts and happenings from the show.

The opening band was an angry rock band from Los Angeles named Buck Cherry.  They were the typical angry rockers - boney with tat's over every inch of skin that was visible.  Lot of prancing and shock vocals.  The folks that brought their children, or grandchildren, were probably shocked by the band's closing song - Crazy Bitch.

You know you are in Nashville when you are in the beer line behind Heidi Newfield (formerly of Trick Pony) and then see her again in the souvenir line.  Wonder if she's stalking me?

The show's opening was pretty cool.  After the lights went out, Google Earth appeared on the side video screens.  It started zooming in & eventually showed the roof of the arena.  It quickly cut to a live (assuming) shot of the band walking backstage toward the stage.

While speaking of video screens, the kids who didn't get shuffled out with Buck Cherry's last song got a treat.  Well, some adults got a treat as well!!  There was a large high def screen behind the stage.  It was as wide as the stage and was probably 20 feet tall.  Well, toward the end of the KISS show, they were showing crowd shots with an occasional close up of fans.  Well, kudos to the camera operator who chose the right lady to zoom in on.  Right as they zoomed in, she chose to give the guys universal rock & roll two gun salute, if you know what I mean.  What a high def treat!

I have seen KISS about 6 or so times; both masked & unmasked.  I must say that the make-up provides an extra edge to the performance.  Musically, they were solid with a very large, loud sound. When Peter Criss and Ace Frehley departed the band the first time, each replacement was given a new character and make-up scheme.  Flash forward to today - with Gene & Paul supposedly having bought out Peter & Ace's rights to their characters, KISS is now free to use all four original characters and basically "plug & play" with the Ace & Peter characters.  Tommy Thayer (guitar) and Eric Singer (drums) are great musicians and have the moves of the former members down.  Crazy, you may ask?  Just look @ Eric Singer.  He previously had long blonde hair & now has short black hair, just like Peter Criss.  I would dare say that some people in attendance who do not keep up band members could have sworn that was Peter or Ace up there.  The special effects were great as usual except for Tommy Thayer's guitar solo.  Typically, Ace's guitar would twirl & shoot out "rockets", but not in Nashville. I read that a malfunction occurred.   Gene dripped fake blood, breathed fire, and flicked his tongue out no less than a thousand times.  There were rising and spinning drumkits, flash pots, flames, smoke, confetti, etc. 

Interesting take from Paul Stanley on modern day politics.  He said that some bands try to tell you who to vote for, what causes you should support, etc.  He then said that if you came to the show expecting that from KISS, you were in the wrong damn place.

In closing, it was a great show.  It is hard to imagine that some of these guys are close to 60 years old.  Paul Stanley still looked & sounded like he was in great shape.  Gene still owned the stage and prowled it all night.  Gene did look like he was struggling at times due to heat, running make-up, or something.  However, it didn't slow him down.  Modern-day bands should take a lesson from KISS.  They came and delivered the songs and show that people wanted.  No political talk, just good four/four rock & roll.  The treat was to see all the folks, young and old, dressed as their favorite KISS character.  Momma Squire even got in on the act:

Here is the set list from the show.  You can see that it is a good ensemble of older and more popular cuts.  Detroit Rock City is still my favorite

• Deuce
• Strutter
• Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
• Hotter Than Hell
• Shock Me
• Modern Day Delilah
• Say yeah
• Dr Love
• She
• Parasite
• 100,000 Years
• I Love It Loud
• Black Diamond
• Rock And Roll All Nite

Encore:

• Shout It Out Loud
• Lick It Up
• Love Gun
• Detroit Rock City

Zach, a Tennessee Squire