News Archive August 2010

Rock Legend KISS Still Gives Fans A Lot To Watch
From: IndyStar.com
by David Lindquist
Posted: August 10, 2010

The Indiana State Fair -- by definition an exposition -- embraced a new level of spectacle when KISS played the Grandstand on Monday night.

A packed house saw the sideshow legends of rock 'n' roll trot out signature tricks across a two-hour show: balls of flame, flying sparks, Paul Stanley's narcissistic glances at himself on a massive video screen and Gene Simmons unfurling his freakishly long tongue, breathing fire and erupting blood from his mouth.

Fireworks at the end of the show distinguished this concert from a Market Square Arena gig in the 1970s, '80s or '90s, but KISS isn't pushing any envelopes.

Other touring acts have caught up. Consider the crowd manipulation of Green Day's Billie Joe Armstrong, the shock value of Lady Gaga and the relentless (yet pointless) pyrotechnics of a Nickelback event.

The MVP of Monday's show was neither Stanley nor Simmons, but hired-gun guitarist Tommy Thayer. The latest in a line of successors to Ace Frehley, Thayer impressed with souped-up Chuck Berry riffs and a solo that paid homage to Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van Halen and Boston's Tom Scholz.

Thayer also brought out the playful side of Simmons, who licked the guitarist's neck more than once during "Cold Gin."

Elsewhere, Simmons, 60, didn't make it look easy. Largely portraying a peeved "Demon," Simmons shed plenty of makeup in the 90-degree heat and kicked over a cooling fan seemingly just to keep the road crew busy.

Stanley delivered his timeworn hokum, proving he's a student of the Jimmy Buffett school of non sequitur song introductions. He mentioned an epidemic of "rock 'n' pneumonia" going around because of changes in the weather, so let's call Dr. Love.

Yet Stanley seemed to veer off script and speak from the heart after Thayer and drummer Eric Singer traded solos and rose more than 20 feet on their platforms.

"This is fun," Stanley said. "This is cool."