KISS and Motley Crue: Kids under twelve get in free!

-Matt Magill

            “The Tour” as it has been billed combines two of the best live bands of their respective decades together under one roof.  It’s a live rock and roll wet dream really.  Just based upon the reputation of the two headliners it was bound to be the best show of the summer, and those expectations were met and surpassed.  Here’s why:

            Let’s just start this with a simple note on the opening band: The Treatment.  The tickets said KISS and Motley Crue, with no mention of this opener, and the tickets further stated that the show was starting at seven.  Upon arriving and walking through the gate at about ten of seven, The Treatment was already playing.  If the tickets do not even take the opening band seriously enough to mention them then I will not either (except to say that they were terrible-which they were).

            This was my third time seeing each of these bands live, and while some bands don’t hold up as well with each successive live viewing, that is not the case here.  Motley Crue actually put on a better show this year than I have ever seen before from them.  Even on one foot, Vince is a better frontman than 90% of the others out there (he broke his foot a couple days before the show, but aside from a slight limp and a walking boot-which he said he borrowed from KISS-you could barely tell).  Now he was the typical Vince when it came to singing, which meant a few garbled phrases and words combined with either going a little too fast or not following the song to a “T” as it was recorded; but if I wanted that I would stay home and listen to the CD.  I come to a Crue show for the experience, and what an experience it was.  They hit on every note in terms of their biggest hits while also throwing in the typical Tommy drum solo as well as two shorter but killer solos from Mick, which prompted my brother to exclaim that even though Mick can barely move (he was more mobile tonight than I have seen him in the past though) that he can play the hell out of a guitar.  The Crue also played their new song “Sex” for the crowd which, of course, prompted Vince to ask the question “who likes sex?” (did I mention kids twelve and under were free?) 

           

            The sound quality was a little rough on their opening song “Saints of Los Angeles” but it was quickly fixed and the only other issue in that department was on one other song (I think it was “Primal Scream” but can’t remember for sure) where the band just didn’t seem to be synched up in terms of tempo.  They quickly fixed this by the first chorus and there were no other noticeable issues for the rest of the show.  As I posted after the Crue left the stage at 9:15 Saturday evening “KISS hasn’t even gone on yet, already best show of the summer”. 

            Upon completion of the Motley set, there was a quick change of the stage, and I have to take the opportunity to praise the road crew who did a masterful job of tearing down Motley’s highly intricate set (including Tommy’s rollercoaster drum kit) and setting up the KISS set (which was more subdued but no less difficult I’m sure) in about the time you would expect a regular set change.  While the bands are both phenomenal, the road crews are the real unsung heroes here.  Anyway, KISS came on and jumped right in to “Detroit Rock City” with no problem.  They played many of their hits, but with a catalog that extends to the early part of the seventies, no matter how many songs they play, they will leave some out.  Not hearing “Deuce” or “Hotter than Hell” was kind of a bummer, but they replaced them with “Shock Me” which featured Tommy on vocals and “Black Diamond” that had a very prominent vocal role for Eric.  I had yet to hear either of these songs in concert so that was a major plus.  There was also a chance for each of the band members to perform their own solo (Gene’s led into “God of Thunder” and blood spitting as always, Paul’s led into “Black Diamond” and Tommy and Eric actually performed theirs as a duet which was great as both are incredible musicians with great chemistry on the stage).  Not only that, but we were treated to their new single “Hell or Hallelujah” from the forthcoming Monster album.  While it would have been nice to hear something off Sonic Boom from a few years ago, this was a welcome addition that sounded great and proved that they have not lost a step.

              The requisite Paul visit to the small stage in the crowd was during “Love Gun” this year and the stage itself actually rose out of the ground via the wonderful power of hydraulics, so originally I thought that part of the show was going to be phased out.  I am happy to see that they decided to keep it in as Paul continues to show why he is the best in the business, making a cold September night feel warm and inviting for those of us that couldn’t afford $100 tickets under the tent.  That being said, the price that I paid (I think it was around $100 for two lawn seats) was well worth it and I would do so again in a heartbeat next year.

            Now, about the title of this post.  Prior to departing for the show, a quick check of the Darien Lake website brought to my attention that kids under twelve actually got in free with the purchase of an adult ticket.  This was a great idea, considering the fact that the adult tickets were pretty pricey and that this was the last show of the season at this venue.  Now the fact that the bands were Motley Crue and KISS?  Maybe not the best choice.  Between Motley’s half naked dancers and song content (the aforementioned new single “Sex” that prompted Vince’s line of questioning), Tommy’s exclamations of “Fuck Yeah” and Gene’s desire to make sure that everyone got a nice, up close view of his new codpiece, this may not be the place for young children.  As adults, especially those that have either been to a show for either of these bands before or know their music in great detail, we pretty much know what to expect; and I have no problem with any of it personally.  I just found it incredibly odd that the offer for free admission for young children coincided with a show that kids probably had no business being around.

            There were only a couple issues with this show, and most of them were so small that they did nothing to dethrone this as the best concert of the summer (hell, of the year).  I am really not a fan of the excessive use of dry ice and/or smoke machines that are commonplace with all bands now.  I realize that they probably do it so that they cannot be easily filmed, and subsequently Youtubed by concert-goers, but unless you are in the front, it can get awful hard to see anything.  This wasn’t as bad today because they were outside and the smoke could dissipate after awhile.  The Megadeth show back in February was inside and it just collected on the stage which made it hard to see and really destroyed the quality of the show.

            The only other thing is the fact that Paul’s voice is finally showing its age.  Remember how I said, back during the Def Leppard review, that Joe Elliot couldn’t hit the high notes so he had the crowd do so?  Paul wasn’t about to do that, as he made sure that he at least tried to hit the high notes.  Sometimes he did, sometimes he wasn’t as successful, and his voice in general sounded more beat up and just scratchier than I remember from years past.  Did it sound a little off to someone that has been a KISS fan for the majority of his life?  Sure.  Did it ruin the show?  Not in the least.  KISS is still the greatest band in the world, and Motley Crue is definitely making a claim to assume that mantle when KISS hangs up the rhinestones and platform shoes.