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From: The Oregonian PAUL STANLEY, the Star Child from super-glam group KISS landed at the Aladdin Theater on Saturday night, without the signature heavy-makeup (OK, maybe a bit of "guyliner"), 7-inch platform boots, pyrotechnic effects, or stage-acrobatics that forged the band's legendary live performances. But fans -- veterans of the so-called "KISS Army" and brand new recruits -- showed up for the rare chance to pay homage to the main singer and songwriter behind the supergroup, which has sold around 100 million albums. The all-age show was sold-out. "I skipped high school in my senior year back in 1976 to see them live in Seattle," said 49-year-old Portlander David Rojo. "And now, 30 years later, I'm here with my son for his first show." Rojo, an operations manager for a trucking firm in Northeast Portland strapped an arm around his 21-year old dad Griffin, who happened to be wearing a KISS T-shirt his dad picked up from another show in the '80s. How can a band that built its early career on costumes, theatrics and some serpentine tongue-flicking by band member GENE SIMMONS, still appeal to a new generation? Griffin says it's the music not the makeup that he's come to appreciate. "This guy is an incredible songwriter. Paul McCartney is The Beatles. PAUL STANLEY is KISS," said Griffin, who has heard every one of the albums in his father's KISS collection. After blasting into "Live to Win," the title track from his most recent and second solo album, Stanley said as much. "When I was making my first solo album, I realized my stuff sounded a lot like the stuff I was making with the other guys," Stanley said. "And I thought, 'Hey -- maybe I am the guy." Though the makeup was subdued, the show was not. Four guitars, some crashing drum work, soaring keynotes and backing vocals, supplied by the stellar house band from the show "Rock Star: Supernova," all kept the night from becoming KISS unplugged. The show mined much of Stanley's solo work: the rousing Kiss-like "Bulletproof," from "Live to Win"; and "Tonight You Belong to Me," which was a powerful blast from his past, ripped from his first solo album in 1978, when all four original members released independent efforts simultaneously. This was not a case of a solo artist running from his past, however. "You people have made an awesome life for me, and I want to try and give some of that love back to you," Stanley said, before ripping into "Magic Touch" from KISS' 1979 "Dynasty" album. And he happily obliged a fan who offered Stanley a dollar to play the 1974 hit "Hotter Than Hell" for her. Although some of the newer material felt a bit indulgent ("Loving You Without You Now" is a ' 70s-like ballad that should be sent back in time), those classics from the KISS canon induced warm nostalgia, and Stanley sold them with fierce showmanship, turning the hit "I Want You" into a 10-minute anthem with the help of hand-claps and cheers from the crowd, who stood standing for the entire two-hour set. Though the show was a rarity, it probably wasn't a KISS goodbye. The man behind KISS announced no plans for another reunion tour (their last was in 2004), but Stanley might be returning in 2007 for another round of solo shows, he said. Which would suit the ageless legions of fans just fine. "The first time I saw KISS was January 21st, 1983. It was the day after PAUL STANLEY's birthday," said Tim Pandora, 40, up from San Francisco to catch the show at the Aladdin. "I've seen them hundreds of times, and I'll see them a hundred more. In any way, shape or form." |
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