08/06/2012
KISS & MOTLEY CRUE: EXPLOSIVE SHOW!
KISS and M�tley Crüe offer fired-up visual spectacles, testosterone riffs during explosive show
By MARIO TARRADELL
What goes with hard rock music? Sweat. Fire. Explosions. Roller-coaster drums. Tattoos. Glittery piano. A demon. A catman. A starchild. A spaceman. Screaming fans. Buxom background singers. Spitting guitar picks.
For about two-and-a-half hours Kiss and M�tley Crüe turned up the heat � literally � at a packed Gexa Energy Pavilion Saturday night. The venue�s large ceiling fans worked intermittently, mostly during the M�tley Crüe set. During Kiss they were mostly off, leaving the crowd close to the stage to swelter.
That�s rock �n� roll, eh? Both bands delivered visual spectacles and more testosterone riffs than you could handle. The co-headlining trek, simply dubbed �The Tour,� takes Kiss and M�tley Crüe through 42 US dates, two Mexican gigs and one Canadian concert. They�ll be on the road together through Oct. 1.By MARIO TARRADELL
What goes with hard rock music? Sweat. Fire. Explosions. Roller-coaster drums. Tattoos. Glittery piano. A demon. A catman. A starchild. A spaceman. Screaming fans. Buxom background singers. Spitting guitar picks.
For about two-and-a-half hours Kiss and M�tley Crüe turned up the heat � literally � at a packed Gexa Energy Pavilion Saturday night. The venue�s large ceiling fans worked intermittently, mostly during the M�tley Crüe set. During Kiss they were mostly off, leaving the crowd close to the stage to swelter.
That�s rock �n� roll, eh? Both bands delivered visual spectacles and more testosterone riffs than you could handle. The co-headlining trek, simply dubbed �The Tour,� takes Kiss and M�tley Crüe through 42 US dates, two Mexican gigs and one Canadian concert. They�ll be on the road together through Oct. 1.
M�tley Crüe went on first, performing for roughly 75 minutes. Ditto for Kiss, who took the show-closing slot. And while each set was truncated, it was a full production. We got Crüe drummer Tommy Lee�s 360 drum roller coaster, which was also in tow last year during the headlining Gexa show that featured special guests Poison and New York Dolls. This time audience member Lauren strapped herself in with Lee for a wild, upside down ride while he kept the beat.
Kiss brought copious amounts of pyro (explosions, sparklers, flames) as well as Gene �The Demon� Simmons� blood-spewing, bat-flying performance of �God of Thunder� and Paul �Starchild� Stanley�s above-the-crowd jetting to a second mini-stage for a take on �Love Gun.�
Stanley, always the talkative master of ceremonies, took to popping guitar picks in his mouth, then spitting them into the crowd. Spaceman Tommy Thayer hopped onto a rocket platform during a guitar solo, while Catman Eric Singer had his own rising drum kit in action.
The Kiss guys played one new song, �Hell or Hallelujah,� from the upcoming new album Monster, which is scheduled for release in October. Otherwise, it was all classic tunes � �Detroit Rock City,� �Shout It Out Loud,� �Lick It Up� and �Rock and Roll All Nite.�
The Crüe boys, including singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx and guitarist Mick Mars, didn�t stray far from the same set list in the 2011 stint. That means we got �Don�t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away),� �Kickstart My Heart,� �Dr. Feelgood,� �Girls, Girls, Girls� and �Home Sweet Home.� Neil had his wailing moments, while Sixx enjoyed dousing the crowd in water.
Speaking of Neil, I got a chuckle out of his sleeveless jacket. On his back was a drawing of two female pole dancers with �I [Heart] Single Moms� emblazoned above it. That certainly tied into the band�s two curvaceous background singers.
M�tley Crüe is all about �Sin City� rock, to quote Neil�s guitar strap, with dashes of glam metal, while Kiss revels in a comic book escapist hard rock with plenty of power pop exuberance. Together in one concert and on one stage the results were naturally explosive.
By MARIO TARRADELL
What goes with hard rock music? Sweat. Fire. Explosions. Roller-coaster drums. Tattoos. Glittery piano. A demon. A catman. A starchild. A spaceman. Screaming fans. Buxom background singers. Spitting guitar picks.
For about two-and-a-half hours Kiss and M�tley Crüe turned up the heat � literally � at a packed Gexa Energy Pavilion Saturday night. The venue�s large ceiling fans worked intermittently, mostly during the M�tley Crüe set. During Kiss they were mostly off, leaving the crowd close to the stage to swelter.
That�s rock �n� roll, eh? Both bands delivered visual spectacles and more testosterone riffs than you could handle. The co-headlining trek, simply dubbed �The Tour,� takes Kiss and M�tley Crüe through 42 US dates, two Mexican gigs and one Canadian concert. They�ll be on the road together through Oct. 1.By MARIO TARRADELL
What goes with hard rock music? Sweat. Fire. Explosions. Roller-coaster drums. Tattoos. Glittery piano. A demon. A catman. A starchild. A spaceman. Screaming fans. Buxom background singers. Spitting guitar picks.
For about two-and-a-half hours Kiss and M�tley Crüe turned up the heat � literally � at a packed Gexa Energy Pavilion Saturday night. The venue�s large ceiling fans worked intermittently, mostly during the M�tley Crüe set. During Kiss they were mostly off, leaving the crowd close to the stage to swelter.
That�s rock �n� roll, eh? Both bands delivered visual spectacles and more testosterone riffs than you could handle. The co-headlining trek, simply dubbed �The Tour,� takes Kiss and M�tley Crüe through 42 US dates, two Mexican gigs and one Canadian concert. They�ll be on the road together through Oct. 1.
M�tley Crüe went on first, performing for roughly 75 minutes. Ditto for Kiss, who took the show-closing slot. And while each set was truncated, it was a full production. We got Crüe drummer Tommy Lee�s 360 drum roller coaster, which was also in tow last year during the headlining Gexa show that featured special guests Poison and New York Dolls. This time audience member Lauren strapped herself in with Lee for a wild, upside down ride while he kept the beat.
Kiss brought copious amounts of pyro (explosions, sparklers, flames) as well as Gene �The Demon� Simmons� blood-spewing, bat-flying performance of �God of Thunder� and Paul �Starchild� Stanley�s above-the-crowd jetting to a second mini-stage for a take on �Love Gun.�
Stanley, always the talkative master of ceremonies, took to popping guitar picks in his mouth, then spitting them into the crowd. Spaceman Tommy Thayer hopped onto a rocket platform during a guitar solo, while Catman Eric Singer had his own rising drum kit in action.
The Kiss guys played one new song, �Hell or Hallelujah,� from the upcoming new album Monster, which is scheduled for release in October. Otherwise, it was all classic tunes � �Detroit Rock City,� �Shout It Out Loud,� �Lick It Up� and �Rock and Roll All Nite.�
The Crüe boys, including singer Vince Neil, bassist Nikki Sixx and guitarist Mick Mars, didn�t stray far from the same set list in the 2011 stint. That means we got �Don�t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away),� �Kickstart My Heart,� �Dr. Feelgood,� �Girls, Girls, Girls� and �Home Sweet Home.� Neil had his wailing moments, while Sixx enjoyed dousing the crowd in water.
Speaking of Neil, I got a chuckle out of his sleeveless jacket. On his back was a drawing of two female pole dancers with �I [Heart] Single Moms� emblazoned above it. That certainly tied into the band�s two curvaceous background singers.
M�tley Crüe is all about �Sin City� rock, to quote Neil�s guitar strap, with dashes of glam metal, while Kiss revels in a comic book escapist hard rock with plenty of power pop exuberance. Together in one concert and on one stage the results were naturally explosive.
