Kiss, O2, 07.05.10 Review

This show was a great laugh.

Was pleased to see so many kids (both big and small!) with their faces painted as we walked into the O2. There were a number of pretty skilled versions of the famous make-up knocking around. The Irish brigade of the Kiss Army had put in more of an effort than I expected! Some of the attire was straight out of "Decline of Western Civilisation Pt 2 - The Metal Years" though: skinny jeans and rough as a bears arse 'Justice For All' style undercut hair-dos on 7 and 8 year olds, men and women staggering out of the Luas pished as newts at 7pm.

Kiss in Dublin on a Friday night!? Was gonna be a quality gig!

A good mate suggested to me that Kiss were "the metal fans guilty pleasure"... now I would never describe myself as a metal fan but I can go along with the "guilty pleasure" bit. Kiss are a 70's pop/rock juggernaut that have outlasted the vast majority of their peers. They havent done this by purely focussing on the music but theres no denying they have 5 or 6 outstanding anthems and the camp/comedy factor in their shows is worth experiencing on at least one occasion. When compared to the deflated shambles that their contemporaries Aerosmith were in Marlay Park a few years back, Kiss certainly conquered a certain part of Dublin tonight - and my heart.

I missed the support act as I was too bedazzled by the merchandise stand once I got into the O2. Kiss are infamous for being one of the most commercial (and cynical) of the big US bands, selling a load of old tat basically. There was an extensive range of gear for sale, a decent line in rhinestone emblazoned "KISS - I WAS THERE" tshirts for example raised a wry smile. Unfortunately no Kiss themed coffins. I think they're an online-only offer...

AC/DC & Depeche Mode both had big broad stages in this venue last year but Kiss were the first band to really dominate the place. You have to hand it Harry Crosbie when you see this kind of show on these shores. Had we waited till 2010 to build such a facility it might have been years and years before something as impressive was established here. When compared with one of Paris' big indoor venues, Le Zenith for example, it is light years ahead in nearly every respect. The first big "arena" gig of 2010 for me (weird that we can now say that in Dublin!) and the first time the mighty and preposterous Kiss have dropped in to say hi. Venue not a complete sell out by a long shot - to be honest it was one of the first shows in the refurbished Point Depot i've seen that wasnt heaving. Estimate the place was about 60% full - the good news is that it is not a cavernous hangar when not completely jam packed. Descreet black covers were pulled over whole sections of seats that were empty.

Pre-show tunes included Hendrix and Kinks as we found a decent enough spot in front of one of the speaker stacks. The screens flicker into life & we got the googlemaps image of the Earth on the screens which proceeded to zoom in on the (as yet incomplete) image of the O2 from space - very Kiss! Then the image dissolved to reveal live footage of the band backstage in full regalia & make up ambling towards the stage. Seeing Simmons and Stanley in the iconic get-up was a hoot.

We got the customary "YOU WANTED THE BEST, YOU GOT THE BEST!" intro over the P.A. then the curtain that had surrounded the entire stage was dropped and the band started into "Modern Day Delilah". In what must rank with me as being the most OTT entrance ive ever seen, the three guitarists (Simmons/Stanley/Thayer) were perched on top of a massive revolving pneumatic arm that would not have been out of place in a theme park. They were raised completely clear of the already precariously high drum riser and brought down to the regular stage level. All the while playing the opening riff to the song. They must have been 40ft above the crowd at one point - crappy wigs blowing in the breeze! Its a solid enough Quo-esque knock off. The riff is catchy and it suited the Alton Towers entrance of the band. There were huge smiles (and some cackles of laughter) from where we were standing.

Paul Stanley then went through his usual patter of pronoucing the name of the city theyre playing in a local accent. So we got "I know its not called Daablin - its DUB-lin!" Queue some nervous laughter.

Apart from Duece, Crazy Nights & Detroit Rock City the band struggled to make an impact on the crowd. They relyed on pyro and stage antics... some of it like Gene flying up to a tiny stage above the lighting rig was sucessful other things not so much. For example in the middle of the wigout between drummer and lead guitar player Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer's drum riser was raised up to being about 20 ft in mid air, he then shouted to us all "Hey Dublin! Check this out!" and proceeded to "fire" a fake rocket from a rocket launcher into the ceiling to a cheap little "pop". Paul Stanley seemed genuinely surprised when his ad-libbed version of the Whole Lotta Love intro got the whole crowd going - "Oh! So you know that one then?!"

Things really got going in the encore though. Stanley - ever the showman - couldnt help but inform us that at other rock shows the encore is pathetic... but that at this one we were gonna get the best damn encore in the world.

To be fair to him I think he was right. It was SENSATIONAL. "Shout it out loud", which is probably their best duet, was nailed. Paul's spin out on a zipline to a smaller revolving stage for "I was made for loving you baby" certainly made everyone around me sing their hearts out. Special mention also has to go "God Gave Rock N Roll to You" which nearly (just nearly) moved me to tears. It provided such a communal moment than final track "Rock N Roll all night" which I had certainly looked forward to the most was a bit of an anti-climax. I don't know if its the casae that theres is a limited sense of spiritual connection for people today but during this anthem the O2 became one big loved up soppy mess! I certainly feel inexplicably "connected" when I'm at a gig and rarely more so than when those who were at Kiss roared at the top of their lungs "Put it in the Sou-oul of everyone!" It was sheer unashamed joy. Anyone who was at the show will know what it felt like.

Setlist

Modern Day Delilah
Cold Gin
Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll
Firehouse
Say Yeah
Deuce
Crazy Crazy Nights
Calling Dr. Love
Shock Me (Eric amd Tommy Jam)
I'm An Animal
100,000 Years
I Love It Loud Gene spits blood & flies
Love Gun
Black Diamond (Paul plays intro to Whole Lotta Love)
Detroit Rock City

Encore:

Lick It Up
Shout It Out Loud
I Was Made For Lovin' You (Paul uses zipline to sing from mini stage)
God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You II
Rock And Roll All Nite