Shout it out loud!
Released through Eagle Rock Entertainment on 22 June 2016 and reviewed by Paul H Birch
Back when the world was young and Britain’s bare-chested lemon-squeezers ruled all they surveyed there rose challengers to their throne in our former dominion, the USA. Peddling old Yardbirds riffs, Townsend power chords and strutting like Jagger such great pretenders as Kiss and Aerosmith achieved fame in their homeland, but continued to mean sod-all this side of the Atlantic. Their larger-than-life stage acts didn’t translate to our theatre stages ran the excuse (Though ironically Ted Nugent seemed to do alright). It took the video age, drug rehabilitation programmes and slick 80s production jobs for those bands to truly connect with worldwide audiences.
That to the general public Kiss remain more renowned for their makeup than their songs doesn’t really matter is the spin their main mouthpiece Gene Simmons would have us believe. Yet, as this DVD reveals, that isn’t the full story. In fact it’s probably an act, and if there’s one thing Kiss know how to do well is put on one hell of a performance…
It’s November 2014, and in Las Vegas, the fairy-lighted city that never sleeps a helicopter circles the Hard Rock Hotel’s rooftop before coming down to land. In a scene straight out of your latest summer blockbuster superhero movie you see the Demon, Starchild, plus new Space Ace and, ahem, Cat, in full costume a moment later. That they all look rather too fresh to have exited said helicopter doesn’t really matter, in 1978 we were sold Superman, a film where we’d believe a man could fly and we went along for the ride. The year before Kiss released their second double live album and that same introduction from it echoes out (and probably does at every gig they play for all I know) here tonight: “The hottest band in the world…” Stage screens part, fluorescent lights blind a euphoric audience and like some weird invading alien army the members of Kiss steal forward staking their ground and launching into ‘Detroit Rock City’.
With no expense spared on cameras taking shots from all angles, fireworks blazing away and blue lasers tinkling furiously the music itself is loud, proud and whips up a storm. Let me state several paragraphs in here, I am not and probably never will be a Kiss fan, but I’ve always had a soft spot for this number after hearing my younger brother play it to death when he arrived home after school. That the men on stage look a bit like death warmed-up in close-up is something that cannot be ignored: the white makeup on Paul Stanley’s face reveals deep age lines (not present on the acoustic set where a tan exudes rude health) and he may be wearing a wig, the overall impression being that he’s been cast for the lead role in a movie for DC Comics’ The Sandman; Simmons meanwhile resembles a scary drag version of Herman Munster in S&M leather. That they’re in their sixties and still able to move around a stage in all this gear under hot spotlights without their performance being hindered is impressive. The music itself? That remains a matter of personal taste, but there’s no doubt it’s live, and the ensemble play well together.
Multi-screens show Giant-Man sized images of the band for those sitting in the gods, and as the cameras scan the audience we see generations going wild: little kids in Kabuki makeup alongside cougars strategically moving one step away to avoid being seen next to their husband’s pot bellies. Meanwhile the band pick up the pace effortlessly with ‘Creatures Of The Night’ – Stanley doing a half-splits down to the floor while lead guitarist Tom Thayer lays into an atypical Gibson sounding solo with their classic KISS logo now emblazoned across the back stage. And it’s vintage sounding Kiss that you’re getting here tonight. If Kiss reinvented themselves in the mid-eighties following the heavy metal vogue of the time to score MTV hits, their late-nineties reunion with Ace Frehley, Pete Criss and Max Factor makeup back in the band indicated that’s what their fans, the Kiss Army, really wanted.
Reunion album and song ‘Psycho Circus’ has a nice hard rock psychedelic flavour here while the MTV-aired ‘Tears Are Falling’ and ‘Lick It Up’ are eschewed of their original six string histrionics, with current guitarist Tommy Thayer (and this DVD/CD’s producer) understanding his role and shooting more directly from the hip as an old school player, while numbers I once considered great stonkers like ‘Deuce’ and ‘Parasite’ work well within the context of this show. Something that also works well, very well in fact, are the harmony and backing vocals; all four members pitch in, add weight and dimension, a quality that goes back to their listening to records by The Beatles when they were kids for the original pair no doubt. Stanley takes most of the lead vocals and his voice is a little strained, particularly early on, but he hits the notes. His pièce de résistance comes during ‘Black Diamond’ as he takes an elevator up to a walkway bridge that rests about half way out into the hall, playing, posing and getting the crowd below to sing along with him – That they end this number and the main show itself with a few bars of ‘Beck’s Bolero’ raises a smile, as did the section from The Who’s ‘Baba O’Reilly’ featured earlier in their set.
Simmons’ own fire-breathing and blood-belching vampire shtick ticks the box for fans, and I could do without his bland solo prior to ‘God Of Thunder’ but his overall bass playing is exemplary, and he seriously stands out musically producing constantly solid lines when they rock and understated melodies that mirror and tease main guitar licks or embellish the general tone of the songs. Add his crooning singing style to this and it leaves me guessing Humble Pie’s Greg Ridley was an early influence.
But he’s still an obnoxious, philandering sexist, money-grabbing son of a bitch, I hear you say. Well, maybe. Like I commented way back in my second paragraph, there’s more than meets the eye to all this. Let us move from the scene of the crime here to study evidence elsewhere.
There is also six track acoustic section on this DVD recorded prior to the main show in what looks to be the hotel’s foyer or reception area. Unmasked, Kiss stroll in; Stanley looking sun-kissed and cool with his white shirt opened sits centre stage, Thayer to his left, with Eric Singer ready to tap his drum kit set back to the right , while Simmons stands, cap on head, acoustic bass strapped round his neck. Frankly the songs don’t do that much for me, there are few musical embellishments aside from a nice tone to Thayer’s solos. The harmonies though are good, especially on ‘Christine Sixteen’ and ‘Love Her All I Can’. But let’s leave the music to one side.
As they entered Simmons spotted a young girl wearing his Demon makeup and has the camera focus on her, making her day. His image, his publicity, you say. Okay, how about between songs when he says “Hold on a little bit, please” to Stanley and points the microphone down to a right little toddler who cries out “Do ‘Shout It Out Loud’!” It’s cute, unrehearsed, and there was no way she wasn’t getting included on the DVD. However, moments later as Stanley announces the next song, off screen you can still hear Simmons talking, “Is that your sister?” he asks. He’s e’s Henot playing to the crowd (of around 30-50) here, just making small talk like a regular guy, a family man. It’s a little moment, but we witness the true face of the Wizard of Oz for a while. Of course, the fact that Americans really don’t get irony rears its head straight after as they play ‘Plaster Caster’ a song about groupies making clay penis models and not one parent freaks out.
Back on the main stage for the encores Kiss go out all guns blazing and confetti streaming as they play the little girl’s favourite ‘Shout It Out Loud’ and conclude the party of ‘Rock And Roll All Nite’ with young and old alike going crazy in the audience.
Look, musically this pretty much remains standard meat and potatoes rock to me. However, there is no doubt in my mind after watching this DVD that Kiss not only put some serious money into producing what’s possibly one of the best live shows on the planet and personal 110% hard graft and integrity too. Whatever you pay for a Kiss concert ticket must be money well spent, and whatever extra millions Kiss make off T-shirts, coffins and any other merchandising paraphernalia out there is fine with me, because it makes people happy. Will I go see them myself? Probably not, but I will recommend this DVD and CD.
7.5 out of 10
DVD:
- Detroit Rock City
- Creatures Of The Night
- Psycho Circus
- Parasite
- War Machine
- Tears Are Falling
- Deuce
- Lick It Up
- I Love It Loud
- Hell Or Hallelujah
- God Of Thunder
- Do You Love Me
- Love Gun
- Black Diamond
- Shout It Out Loud
- Rock And Roll All Nite
Acoustic Set:
- Coming Home
- Plaster Caster
- Hard Luck Woman
- Christine Sixteen
- Goin’ Blind
- Love All I Can
- Beth
CD:
- Detroit Rock City
- Creatures Of The Night
- Psycho Circus
- Parasite
- War Machine
- Tears Are Falling
- Deuce
- Lick It Up
- I Love It Loud
- Hell Or Hallelujah
- God Of Thunder
- Do You Love Me
- Love Gun
- Black Diamond
- Shout It Out Loud
- Rock And Roll All Nite
