Sparks Fly and Blood Spews as Kiss Alive 35 Tour Hits Cleveland

September 29th, 2009 by D.X. Ferris Leave a reply »

Kiss Performing in Detroit on September 26, 2009.
Photograph by Matt Mitchell
Halloween arrived early last night, when the Kiss Army invaded downtown Cleveland, Ohio, for a concert at Quicken Loans Arena. The show was the second stop of the Kiss Alive 35 tour, following a sold-out two-night stand in Detroit Rock City. The trek celebrates the 35th anniversary of Alive!, the band’s first landmark live album — one of RS’ Greatest Albums of All Time — which helped elevate the group from a New York makeup act to international rock icons.

With some luck, Kiss will return to the city in a few months: Last week, after a decade of eligibility, the popular favorite received a nomination to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which is headquartered blocks away from Q.

Buckcherry warmed up a two-thirds capacity crowd of Kiss Army careerists, privates and generals. The arena was dotted with convention-worthy costumes and fans in pedestrian fatigues and face-paint. Couples wore black-and-white Gene-and-Paul designs, dads and sons sported matching makeup, and an elementary schoolgirl looked so comfortable painted as Starchild you’d think she was at a Dora the Explorer Live! show. Vintage designs from the ’70s outsold more recent merch, and some of fans wore T’s from the band’s 2000 (alleged) farewell tour.

As frontman Paul Stanley proclaimed early in the set, “Tonight is all about celebrating the history of the band and the relationship with the Kiss Army.”

In the years that followed Alive!, detractors have had a lot to say about Kiss, through its double-live gonzos, concept albums, disco derailments, solo indulgences, collectible dolls, unmasking, remasking, forays into reality TV, and a failed fantasy movie. But few have ever accused the band of putting on a bad show. And they s...

Article Source: Rolling Stone : Rock and Roll Daily

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