Issue #13: Argentina '99
Welcome one and all to the newest addition to the Video Spotlight family (hey, I had to come up with a new way to say here's the new issue didn't I?) Anyway, being back from my awesome Brazilian escapade for almost a month now and going back to work at my former (now again) full time job, things have been hectic for me. So, I'm sorry for the delay to all the readers who love this piece of 3rd grade writing called Video Spotlight.
The show I've chosen to dismantle this month is the newly surfaced video from Argentina of the Psycho Circus Tour, which should've been dubbed the "We should've never gone out to support this album and retreated back to the studio to make a real KISS album" tour. But I guess that was too long and wouldn't make for easy advertising..... like there was any to begin with. Yes folks, PolyGram once again dropped the ball.
I have to admit I've been a little untrue lately in some of my articles, fearing to speak my mind when something is really horrible due to the fact that KISS fans are hard to please and mostly only want to hear a sugar-coated version of things. Here's an example, "Gene sounds great on this tour." Not true. He's overweight and totally lost all perspective of his demon character. So, for this article I will hold no punches back and try to be as brutally honest as possible, to the dismay of some fans. Anyway, on with the show.
Last Poll Results:
| Favorite Song from Japan '77 | ||
| Rank | Song | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | God of Thunder | 12 |
| 2. | Detroit Rock City / Let Me Go Rock & Roll | 6 |
| 4. | Rock & Roll All Nite / Nothin' To Lose / Makin' Love / Take Me | 5 |
| 8. | Shout It Out Loud | 4 |
| 9. | Black Diamond / I Want You / Cold Gin | 3 |
| 12. | Ladies Room | 2 |
| 13. | Beth / Firehouse / Do You love Me | 1 |
| Best Performance | ||
| Rank | Member | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Paul | 21 |
| 2. | Gene | 19 |
| 3. | Ace | 18 |
| 4. | Peter | 3 |
| Songs Off "Rock & Roll Over" You'd Like To Hear Live | ||
| Rank | Song | Votes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mr. Speed | 18 |
| 2. | Love 'Em & Leave 'Em | 14 |
| 3. | Hard Luck Woman | 11 |
| 4. | Calling Dr. Love | 9 |
| 5. | See You In Your Dreams | 7 |
| 6. | Baby Driver | 4 |
The Show
First off on this tape we have an interview with the band conducted by someone who obviously has trouble speaking perfect English. Now, seeing as they are from Argentina I understand this. Obviously the members of KISS didn't feel this way. The guys ask KISS, "What do you expect from the crowd?", to which Peter answers, "I expect them to be crazier than even the last time!" When the interviewer says, "You weren't here the first time", Peter tells the guy, "Then why did you ask me that? What are you, stupid?" No, Peter, that category would be filled by you and Ace. Now I'm not saying they're stupid, but definitely naive by only taking a salary for the last 2 tours instead of holding out and getting a real piece of the pie instead of Gene & Paul making all the money as rumors report. I guess Peter enjoys feeling like it was 1979 again.
Then the guy says something like, "You talk too much about sex." In my mind he was trying to say, "You talk a lot about sex." But Gene & Paul make the mistake of embarrassing this poor guy now, telling him it's probably because he has no Mr. Happy. Paul then says, "That's ok cause we don't like men." Well, maybe not in the way they like women, but hey Paul 75% of your crowd is male so be careful of saying what you like and don't like. You think the turn out was bad on this tour? Well think about if all the men you "don't like" didn't buy tickets or your albums.... what would be left? Not much! So think twice before you make another non-English speaking interviewer feel like crap for not being as well educated as you & Gene. Sorry for being so critical, but having been in a country where I was the foreigner I now understand what this guy was going through and I'm just defending him in my own little evil way. =)
Well, let's move on to the show. Buckle your seat belts, this one is gonna be bumpy.
PSYCHO CIRCUS - This is a great opener, probably the only good selection in this set from the new album. Unfortunately, Gene makes a ton of bass mistakes all over the song and Paul gives Gene some really pissed off glares. It's no secret why the tour ended so abruptly and Paul did the Phantom role and now, after only 2 additional TV performances, is going back to reprise the role instead of doing a Halloween show. Good move Paul! The band is ok, but still sloppy in some parts. Some of the vocals are flat and Paul himself hits a bad chord during the spoken part. All in all still a good showing.
SHOUT IT OUT LOUD - Well, here we go on another greatest hits ride cause that's all you'll find here. Gene once again shows carelessness and plays the opening bass line totally wrong, earning him another glare from Paul. Gene's bass playing is really not up to par recently, among other things, which I'll mention on the next song. The band really doesn't seem together at all.
DEUCE - Get up and get Gene a teleprompter! I can understand forgetting lyrics, it's a part of life, but his favorite song to play live? You'd think he'd know this one inside out. Even the strain of this tour is wearing on Paul. Screaming "Hey" instead of "Do It" at the end of the second chorus, Paul seems bored and really not into it. The playing is picking up a bit, Ace nails the solo home and Peter's playing is better, but by far this is not the band I heard on the radio from Dodger Stadium where they were flawless, except for one mistake in 100,000 Years.
DO YOU LOVE ME - Paul tells the crowd before the song to put on their 3D glasses. You can tell the 3D for the most part worked by the ooh's & aah's from the Argentinean audience, in case you didn't experience the 3D in person. Peter starts the beat and the crowd sings the 1st verse as Paul mouths the words, with the band kicking in on the chorus. On the 2nd verse Paul forgets the words, but covers by changing "You like the concerts, studios, the money honey that I make" by replacing "studios" with "fancy clothes." Nice cover, but teleprompter jokes can be heading Paul's way at some point as well.
FIREHOUSE - This is your standard version of this song, with Peter beating the living hell out of the splash cymbal after the guitar solo. Paul plays to the 3D camera a lot during this song. One point I can make here, since there's nothing really special to write here, Paul seems to be the only one playing to the 3D camera on the whole tour. Gene & Ace didn't even make an attempt to walk in front of it or stick their fingers or guitars towards it like Paul did. The only 3D of the other guys we had was the Psycho Circus video inserts, which were really cheesy in the first place. So, if it weren't for Paul we'd have no real band 3D. To me it came off as a lack of showmanship on their part. Peter is the exception since he's behind the kit and Beth in 3D just doesn't work unless it's at a drive in feature double bill with Phantom of the Park!
SHOCK ME - Ace sounds a lot better vocally on this tour for some reason during this one. One thing I noticed, which I never did before, is how awesome Peter's background vocals were. There is also a new ending to this old classic, but unfortunately this too, like 90% of this poor set list, needs a rest. Rocket Ride, however, would be a nice replacement.
LET ME GO ROCK & ROLL - This one has only been around for the last 2 tours, so this can stay for another go if they decide to keep it in the set for the next show. For some unknown reason, since the camera isn't on him at this point, Peter stops playing before the solo. I wish I could tell you why, but
no see, no tell. Gene during his big bass part doesn't play as well, and this seems to be a reoccurring thing for this song. He does make a half-hearted attempt to play a poor variation of it for a few measures. Now it's a good crowd song and gives Peter a chance to say the town he's in and point to the logo. Since he's not singing much it's more exercise for his vocal chords, and well the pointing.... maybe he needs to stretch his arms out, but really badly played for this show.
CALLING DR. LOVE - Before this one starts Paul gets to crowd to start singing something that sounds like that Ricky Martin song (you know the one that sounds like a bullfighting song with the Olay Olay's in it). Paul, after a few minutes, tells them they're awesome. My guess is to get them to stop so the show can continue or else they'd sing all night. Now on to my prescription. Someone should call another doctor, this one needs some bed rest. Only cool thing is Gene does sound a tad like the demon at some parts and Ace does a cool finger-spinning thing on the solo where he does a slide on the string. Peter's drumming again holds up and makes this song somewhat bearable.
INTO THE VOID - Here we see Ace going into his Black Sabbath title selection. First Snowblind, now Into the Void. Ace must really like Sabbath. In fact I heard he's writing a new song called Return of the Paranoid Iron Man (just kidding). Ace's vocals have been really bad on this tour on this song, but this performance is a lot better that the others. He does sing Shock Me better than on any tour I've seen him. Ace's solo is attached here, and it's the same solo for the last 2 decades, though a cool rendition of 2001 is substituted for Beethoven's 5th from the last tour, as well as a cool 3D effect. Which reminds me, KISS should get props for trying to incorporate 3D into the show, but seeing how poorly it worked they really need to remove it from the show if they do tour in 2000 like they said. I'll give more suggestions towards the end as well.
GOD OF THUNDER - Much better performance on WCW a week ago, even though it was lip-synced. This version is good as well. I did find something really cool that I don't recall when I saw this show in NJ. Before Gene spits the blood lightning & a dark sky comes up on the screen. That was cool and made it seem like the Demon character was alive, even for a brief minute. This version is pretty good and their playing is a little tighter, but it still is missing the "magic" it usually has. This is another song in desperate need of a break.
WITHIN - Now this song is a pure example of where Gene could've spit blood and Peter had a drum solo. Well one out of two ain't bad. Although the song itself is pretty lame to me, and way too grunge for this line-up, it's still sonically a good live song. Lyrically I've seen Gene mutilate this song, thus earning this song the title of "Gene's Domino Of The Reunion Tours." Since Domino was always poorly performed lyric wise I felt this was fitting for him. However, the son of a bitch proved me wrong and actually remembered the words and screwed Deuce up instead (visualize me scratching my head in amazement)! Peter's solo is tacked on here and is a much better solo than the Reunion tour sham solo. The cat still has some claws when he wants to show them, but still not quite as exciting as Eric Carr's solo, especially the Hot in the Shade one. What I'm saying is to make up for a lack of chops Peter should be a little more visual for his solo. Eric had major chops & showmanship so that made his solos a treat & not "T-shirt time." Peter needs to consider that if he does a solo on the next tour, or else we may have to put the cat out for the night (I haven't had a cartoon pun in here for a while, humor me. I'm also on a Flintstones kick).
I WAS MADE FOR LOVIN YOU -This is the standard harder version we've been treated to since the Revenge days, with Paul singing it in a harder style and not that candy ass style on Dynasty. This one is a bit odd though cause Peter just plays a quarter note feel on the kick until the "do do do" part before the 1st verse. Was it another screw up or planned? You be the judge. Paul again tries to hit the middle high notes and cracks like a mirror being stepped on. Luckily he backs off from the 3rd "I can't get enough" before further embarrassing himself and having his voice crack again.
LOVE GUN - 8 inches of steel, 4 minutes of boredom. Paul doesn't fly so that takes the starch out of this one. I'll assume the fans were too wild and he didn't want to risk being mobbed by them in the middle of this huge stadium. The vocals and backups are off and a bit stale. Only thing kind of cool is Paul & the fans before the song sing the 1st verse and build up to the chorus accapella.
100,000 YEARS - This version is much better than most versions I've seen lately. Peter's playing is much better here and the band briefly kicks into normal paying mode. Paul once again does crack during the "Do You Feel Alright" section.... Paul's seen better nights than this. Ace ås solo lacks a bit though here. One last neat thing worth a deuce is before the "Sorry For Takin So Long" Peter doesn't play the normal beat. Instead he plays a one hit accent with Gene doing the same on the bass. It's hard to explain in words, but the closest I can come is like the final note of a song that "dant" part (Say it and you'll get what I mean). Refresher course from a past Spotlight -- Phonetics Suck for writing!!!!
ROCK & ROLL ALL NITE ‚ I wanna rock and roll all nite and fall asleep during this song. God forbid they drop this song and deal with the 30 people who will actually miss it in the set list. Only saving grace is Ace Frehley's new effect, a pinwheel firework on the headstock of his guitar going off during the solo. Another Paul Stanley moment happens at the end of the song. He goes to break the guitar and throws it up onceä catches itä throws it up twiceä drops it and it breaks right in half! All together smack your forehead and in your best Homer Simpson voice go, "DOH!!!" Paul picks it up as gracefully as possible, looks at it, and just throws it down and it seems like he gets a chuckle from the boo-boo. This was not a good night for Paul.
BETH - Peter comes out here and seems to be in a better mood as he smiles and makes goofy faces at the crowd before singing the song. Not much else to comment on since this song is so short and is done by a tape with a live vocal. Do wish they'd can this and play it unplugged style, which was a real treat to hear. Not only was it different and a challenge for them to pull off, but it showed they had chops as well.
DETROIT ROCK CITY - Detroit Flop City! Whoops, sorry got confused with the movie for a second there. DRC, as it's known by the fans, is given a good run through here. I'm glad they dropped the long Black Diamond type ending after the Dodger stadium show. It's much better and has a more bombastic feel like the old ending, though I did enjoy the Revenge ending from 1992 with the Statue of Liberty flipping the bird. A major stand out here is like when I played in Brazil the crowd sings the guitar solo note for note. Take it from me, its much more breath taking experiencing it in person, especially how loud the South American audience sings it.
BLACK DIAMOND - Paul does something very cool during the intro here when he plays to the crowd. He slips in the intro of the Oath before the crowd cheers and he plays the soft intro into the song. Peter's vocals are dead on, and even though like most of this set list is tiring, I found myself singing like it was the 1st time I heard this one back in '77 when I first became a fan.
Rating of Argentina
Being it was shown on TV overseas this copy I have was recorded on a NTSC (regular VHS machine) and not PAL (overseas system) so this copy is mint. I give the video an overall of a 7 due to the lack of tightness and performance. If I were to judge on clarity and how well it was shot it'd get a 10 though. One really neat thing is the ending credits where the producers play a video montage of the show with "I Finally Found My Way" supplying the soundtrack, making this the best ending of any KISS pro-shot I've seen. That's about all for this Spotlight. I told you it would be rough, but you may now unbuckle your seat belts till the next time.
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