On Tuesday, August 30, 2016, I saw KISS in the Bryce Jordan Center in State College.
Looking back a year ago at this time, would I pay money to see KISS? No.
Would I pay money to see them again? Absolutely.
When I first met my boyfriend, he was wearing a KISS shirt. He even wanted to be a member of the band for Halloween a few weeks later. He introduced me to KISS almost immediately.
Did I like them at first? No. Did I go along with it because he's a super fan? Yes.
After a few months of listening to them, I could start to name band members, songs and albums. When the tour was announced, there was no doubt that we were going, no matter the cost.
KISS formed in 1973 with the original members of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, and they released the first album, which was self-titled, that year.
Over the years, KISS released 20 studio albums, 4 solo albums, 11 live albums and many more compilation albums.
The band has seen a lot of band members come and go, including Eric Carr, Vinnie Vincent, Mark St. John and Bruce Kulick. The band is currently Simmons, Stanley, Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer.
KISS concerts are becoming a unique experience because unlike many other artists these days, they perform the entire concert live. No backtracks. No lip-syncing. All live. Like many artists today though, KISS concerts are not merely live music but an experience. KISS really puts on a show, and I witnessed this first hand when I saw them last week.
When many people hear KISS, they immediately think of the makeup. No, the makeup is not random. Each of the members has a persona, which include the Star Child, the Demon, the Spaceman and the Cat Man. Other members had the Fox and the Egyptian Warrior when they were part of the band. These personas are carried through the concerts by the way the members behave.
The band opened with “Detroit Rock City,” a very well-known song. The band played hits like “Beth,” “Black Diamond,” “Cold Gin,” “Love Gun” and “I Love It Loud.”
Other than the music, the band stunned with some tricks up their sleeves. Not only was their performance full of energy and dancing, it was riddled with pyrotechnics that added to the already high-energy show.
After Simmons’ bass solo, he spit blood and proceeded to fly into the air to stand on a raised platform during the bass-heavy song that he also sings, entitled “God of Thunder.”
Simmons also breathed fire during the singing of “War Machine.”
Stanley flew into the audience for the singing of “Love Gun,” after being prompted by the audience screaming “PAUL!”
Stanley even let a young fan come up on stage to play with him during a song.
Tommy Thayer also played an impressive guitar solo and proceeded to shoot fireworks out the end of his guitar in rhythm with the song.
Not only did KISS put on a great show, they used this tour for a good cause. They said that because the tour was titled “The Freedom to Rock Tour,” they were donating $150,000 to the Hiring our Heroes Foundation, which helps veterans find meaningful jobs during their transition out of the military.
"Being patriotic is always cool," Stanley said.
Not only did they say they were donating money, local military people were brought up on stage to be recognized, followed by a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem.
They finished up their set with an encore of “Beth” and “Rock n’ Roll All Nite”, while blowing confetti at the crowd for well over 7 minutes.
When the encore ended, before the lights came back up, the crowd shouted “One more song, one more song!” until the lights were finally raised. No one wanted the show to end.
Walking out of the arena, everyone was energized. I had never been to a concert like it.
Would I pay money to KISS again? Absolutely.
