Review: KISS and Motley Crue---The Kings of Rock

By J. Boyd/InsideSTL-Music
(excerpt)

After a 30 minute intermission, it was time for the magic of KISS to take a St. Louis stage for the first time since 2004. As the band was shown on the screen making their way to the stage, the venue lost it. With the familiar announcement of "You Wanted the Best , YOU GOT THE BEST! The Hottest Band in the World — KISS!", the black curtain dropped and the classic rock titans descended from the ceiling and ripped into a blistering version of "Detroit Rock City" backed by huge lights, the trademark KISS logo on 2 story screens behind and big pyro. The energy didn't stop as Paul Stanley quipped "We're about to have a party! Make some noise you wild animals" before stepping in to the KISS classic "Shout It Out Loud" which saw fists in the air and rock horns a plenty.
Over the next 90 minutes, the band displayed all of the trademark pageantry that has made them cult favorites for generations of fans. Songs like "Firehouse" and "War Machine" saw the bands trademark flare and were surely early set highlights. A "war of solos" on raised platforms between Eric Singer and Tommy Thayer was quite a spectacle ending with drummer Singer pulling out a fake rocket launcher and shooting out the lights. Not to be outdone, legendary bassist Gene Simmons pulled out his trademark fire breathing and bloody mouth routine before being lifted to a perch above the stage for "God of Thunder".
Having been such a long time between St. Louis shows, the band called back to old memories of "playing the old Kiel and the Checkerdome" before breaking into a shredding version of "Love Gun" that saw front man Paul Stanley fly over the crowd to a rotating circular stage perched above the soundboard to perform. "Lick It Up" was next in the set and at that point, the crowd was simply in the palms of the rock demons hands and was eating up every second of it. A cool version of "Black Diamond" started off under a giant disco ball and eventually exploded into energy and pyro and finished out the main set with the bands trademark pose at center stage.

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