Issue #15: Hot In The Shade Tour - Detroit Michigan 1990

(Singing) Sorry for taking so long, it must've been a bitch while I was gone...

Well here we go again folks with another installment of "Who Wants To Be A Video Reviewer." Okay, okay I know its KISS Video Spotlight. I'm gonna try like hell to pull off writing another review shortly but I'm not making promises as you can see this one took forever to finish. I hope you all enjoyed my Unauthorized review & interview with Jack Sawyers.

Ok so maybe 9 months was a little too long between articles but I hope to be back to a normal pace at some point when the everyday problems of work & other priorities calm down.

Since we last left, for those who do care about what I've been up to, there are some other projects I've been involved in. I'm proud to say I wrote the biography section of the Eric Carr Story: Inside the Tale Of The Fox DVD thanks to Jack & the Carr family for that opportunity.

I also wrote a decent portion of the forth coming Eric Carr trading cards which I hope will debut at this year's NJ Kiss Expo exclusively at the Studio Chikara table which I'm very excited about.

One other thing, I have to say feedback is kinda quiet as of late so feel free to e-mail and let me know what you think, like, dislike about the article. It's cool to talk with you all so don't be shy step right up no matter how long it is between articles I enjoy talking to all of you so keep the e-mail coming.

Before we get into this article I received a very cool e-mail from Bill who shed some light on the white fire hat I spoke of in my first article on Sydney Australia. Hard to believe it's been 5 years since I wrote that one and it still generates responses & e-mail.

Anyway he's what he wrote:

Just F. Y. I.  The N.S.W (Australia) fire brigade wear white fire helmets (in 1980 anyway), which may explain why Paul used a white one. I went to both shows, grabbed a few picks and the blood towel. I was impressed but really wanted to see an Alive II type of show with all the hydraulics.

Cheers Bill

Now, what you are about to read is the video I had originally planned to review before Unauthorized was released. However, me being the opportunist I am, I felt I had to jump on a hot topic and seller (Unauthorized) and forsake this review of the Hot In The Shade Detroit 1990 1st night video.

Here you will find a run down of the show and even at points you will see me ramble like an out of control little fanbot that I become on occasion. My feelings are that this was and always will be the ultimate fucking stage show KISS ever used bar none, though some people will disagree.

Okthrow your mittens around your kittens and away we go.

Show Description:

May 18, 1990 Michigan Palace of Auburn Hills, this is one of the two pro-shot videos that have surfaced from this tour. My secret spy source says more do exist so my question is

WHERE ARE THEY!!!

The other date of the two existing pro-shots is Oct 1990.

This video I will be reviewing is the mint concert of the 2 shows. This one having no dropouts or defects, unlike the October (AKA 2nd Night) video.

The only musical differences between nights 1 & 2 are a minor set list change, (dropping the odd & rare inclusion of "Under The Gun" and addition of a more well-known song, "I Was Made For Loving You" & of course Eric Carr's incredible drum solo)

Sadly the 2nd night has a really bad audio buzz throughout the whole video. If a nice soundboard audio recording ever surfaced it would be awesome if someone could remaster the video with a clean audio track. (Hint, Hint)

The show itself has all the making of a great KISS show and performance so without wasting time here let's go to the track by track analysis you've all grown so accustomed to.

Track Analysis

I Stole Your Love - This rates as one of the coolest entrances of the band's history where the band comes out through the mouth of the Sphinx. Only one other entrance in my eyes is better and that is the new Farewell Tour entrance with them all coming down together playing Detroit Rock City. This song however holds a real special place in my heart as the first KISS song I ever heard. Oddly enough this tour (H.I.T.S.) was my first KISS tour, as my parents felt I was too young to go to concerts until I was 17 so to hear them open with the song that got me hooked on this band was a real emotional experience for me. This version is a little sloppy, the bass is up way too high in the mix and Gene's playing is brutal especially on the opening to the first verse. He's completely off time and out of sync with the band. Eric's drums are also too echoed and overbearing in the mix. Paul's guitar is way too low & Bruce is way too high when the solo kicks in but energy & performance-wise this is an all out KISS assault, the way this song ought to be played.

Deuce - Unlike the Crazy Nights tour the band came closer to playing this note perfect as the old days. Only little nooks are missing from here like the cowbell part after the re-intro and the outro solo seemed rush to do the choreography, which just didn't look honest. It looked like they were trying to get a cheap pop with the crowd and by associating this line-up with the old line-up.

Honestly it comes of very stale. It (the choreography) did get better during the Revenge era.

Playing wise it seems like the managed to fix the levels on the instruments. Vocals are another thing though Gene at this point was really losing his fire in more ways than one. Did anyone else notice that this tour was the only one Gene did not spit fire on since the band's incarnation in 1973?  What does that have to do with Deuce you ask? Absolutely nothing, hey I had to fill up space with some type of rambling.

Heaven's On Fire - WHOOOOOOOOO OOOOOO OOH

The flame-throwers up at the top by Leon are awesome as well as another throwback to the old days. I guess that's why when they were promoting this tour they were saying it was going to be like a classic KISS show including borrowing all things from the era. This was a good spot for this song in the set and it's played well here but not a fiery as on Animalized Live & Uncensored.

Rise To It - I have to admit as corny as it may seem I really did enjoy the whole Bruce/ Paul blues jam here. But you'd think that with as many times as Paul dropped blues legend's (Howlin Wolf, Muddy Waters) name in interviews (circa 1993) he'd be able to come up with a better blues riff than Bad to the Bone.

Please give me a break, George Thorogood is about as bluesy as a one legged man in an ass kicking contest. The song sounded really tight live and no one even noticed the sampled background vocals for the chorus that Gary Corbett would cue on his keyboard.

He also trigged back-up vocals through his keyboard on Shout It Out Loud as well.

I have some unreleased footage which totally backs me up & busts the KISS myth so that is the only reason I'm revealing this info is cause I have proof.

Fits Like A Glove - I don't think I could ever bring myself to say anything bad about this Gene tune. Well okay maybe I can this version is just way too slow again the version from Animalize is just so much more superior. One & possibly the only highlight for this version is during the "When I go through her" part.

Gene for the first time to my knowledge actually finished the "through butter" part complete with the scream. This makes me wonder were the tapes rolling for a possible Alive 3 recording at this time? Nah probably not cause the fans wouldn't want a live recording with Eric Carr now would they (sarcasm turned off)

Crazy, Crazy Nights - Only track left from the previous tour & album of the same name in this set list. This is given a good performance with your generic Paul rap used in each city about him talking to the local reporter who asked when KISS would pack it in and was met by Paul with the same answer of "I've got a message from 15,000 wild motherfuckers here in _________ (insert city).

They want you to go fuck yourself (loud cheers) Paul then intros the song and were off into the song. The intro drumbeat is very reminiscent of "Do You Love Me. Once again the soundman is too busy smoking something to pay attention to the sound and the snare drum & Bruce's guitar are way too high in the audio mix. Paul's vocals are dead on and as usual Gene is lazy and barely playing the right bass line.

Strutter - Paul tries to invoke the whole classic KISS vibe by switching to a Les Paul but the sound still misses the mark. However, this song no matter which line-up does it embodies everything about KISS. The riff, vocals, & simple romp of the song just to this day does something to me when I hear it plus its about my favorite thing GIRLS! Great back-up vocals from Eric Carr here, which make you, remember how great of a blend Eric had and how important his voice was to the 80's sound.

Calling Dr. Love - This song is segued right from Strutter and is played as usual very lackadaisical and quite boring. This song has never really done it for me in a live setting since Alive 2. There is one saving grace for this song & that's Eric Carr's monstrous fills but even that can't revive this doctor from going out to pasture.

Hide Your Heart - Ah one of my favorites of H.I.T.S. about Johnny, Rosa, & Tito. 3 people in a love triangle, which ended up turning out for the worse.

Rumor has it they all worked at Taco Bell and were fighting over the last Chalupa and not Rosa. Paul's rap is cool here where he mentions something true when you mix pride, love and passion is can become volatile. This is a great performance here with the coolest laser section during the slow part after Bruce's solo.

Black Diamond - Paul starts doing his normal guitar intro but, this time he stops to thank Detroit for being there from the beginning and intro's the song. Sadly this is the only lead vocal from Eric Carr on the tape and also sadly a really bad song too. I'd much rather heard Eric perform Little Caesar or Young & Wasted. Eric delivers the goods drumming but seems a little out of sorts on the vocals and just doesn't seem into it.

Shout It Out Loud - A candid moment happens before segueing into this song, you see Eric take his drumstick and quickly scan down the set list to see what's next then counts to 4 on his hi-hats and starts the song. This version is missing the normal pep it usually has but vocally sounds as good as usual.

Lick It Up - Paul uses his now standard rap about putting things in your mouth that you wouldn't swallow. Ok I'm not even gonna touch that one with a 10 ft pole. Anyway this has a good vibe to it, not as good as Animalize Live & Uncensored's version but passable. Paul's vocals are a bit laid back but the lasers in the "duh duh dah duh duh duh da" part before the solo is cool.

Cold Gin - Well it's not 1975 anymore and we're not dealing with KISS trying to be one of us by stating how they partied & drank 6 bottles of Cold Gin. We all now know the truth that it was Ace who drank all 6 bottles alone (just kidding) Fast forward back to 5-18-90 and we find Paul explaining to the audience in the Motor City about how the band used to split a Turkey sandwich on Thanksgiving in the loft. Now I ask you one important question.

Not how did they split sandwich into 4 that's easyŠ.No, my question is, was it a KOSHER turkey sandwich since G & P are Jewish. Ok with that dumb ass lame excuse for comedy over this is your standard version (again) of this ode to "the stuff that tasted like medicine" One interesting side note is Paul sings the 2nd verse of the song, yes the same one Ace now sings on the Psycho Farewell to Reunion Tours.

Forever - Ballad time here at the Apollo, um I mean Palace, sorry got confused Motown-Apollo ah fuck it. Well this song has always been a good sap fest but sing it to a chick and you're swinging from the chandeliers shortly thereafter. It works, trust me. Now, Paul whom I've called many things here including the greatest frontman to ever grave a stage but now I have to add another name to the list. "Mick Foley" (see footnote at bottom of article) I thought he was the only guy who could take pride in a cheap pop from the crowd. Paul actually uttered the words New Kids On The Block & Milli Vanilli to crowd all over the USA on the tour.

Hey at least I only had to type it; he actually had to say it HA HA HA HA!

Well this is a classic ballad by Starboy and is quite cool in the live setting with the lighters, Bruce's solo, the lasers & moon oh wait that was Gene's ass. Well almost everything was cool.

God Of Thunder - Leon gets to shine here and you thought I made bad jokes? Who thought to call the Egyptian chimpanzee Leon Sphinx? Sound like an Ace joke but he wasn't there so default & point to Paul. In case some of you didn't read it up top the 1st night doesn't have a drum solo but if you can deal with a bad hum on the audio, night 2 is worth getting for the solo alone.

Another thing possibly not known is Gary Corbett off-stage keyboardist was the voice for Leon during God of Thunder. In later shows Pyro was adding to this song by having explosions in Leon's eyes during the middle spoken part & end of the song. BTW according to Rock Scene's Hot In the Shade special in 1990 I read a page with a set list with stage cues and it made me wonder what happened to the sunglasses exploding off the face of Leon during Strutter?

Man is this tour filled with unanswered questions or what?

Under The Gun - Odd song choice here but it seems to pump the band up a bit, then again if a high tempo number can't nothing will. One of my personal favorites from the Animalize cd. However in my vast collection of videos & cd's this show is the only one with this in the set list that I own. Anyone have any insight if it was played more on this tour? I think this version is good but Paul vocals crack a few times as does Eric's on the "fire" part, all in all a good showing here.

I Love It Loud - Ok I've seen some bad versions of this mainly due to Gene's voice cracking but this one takes the cake. Gene gets lost lyrically (gee there's a surprise) and in part makes the whole band lose its place and totally mess the song up. They recover quickly with an impromptu "Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye, Aye" crowd chant then back to the chorus and finish the song. Gene looks either Bruce or Paul but they should've looked at him cause he was at fault this mishap.

Tears Are Falling - Here's another classic KISS moment of sing with Paul. The crowd is somewhat into it, not as much as on Hide Your Heart but then again with a soundboard recording the audience is muted and later if used for a home video or live cd "sweetened" up in the final mix. This song is and always will be strong especially here Paul's vocals really stand out as does Eric's backup vocals this makes up for the lack of energy on Under the Gun earlier in the video. Again after watching & hearing this song it really makes you scratch your head and wonder why was it not included on Alive 3.

Love Gun - Unlike most versions no intro here, no story or sly antidotes about Paul's "pistol" or the local girl who wanted to pull the trigger. The lasers again save a lackluster performance, which sadly makes me agree with some friends & fellow fans that KISS was really not hitting the mark performance wise on this tour. One odd moment is Gene during a close up sticks his tongue out now you're probably saying so what he does that all the time right?

Wrong, this was during the period "HITS & Revenge" where the band had an ongoing bet that Gene couldn't keep in his mouth instead of his pants. Bruce was quoted on this tour as saying he felt fire breathing and sticking his tongue out was part of the makeup persona. By the way in hindsight I guess he changed his mind cause on the Revenge tour he was breathing fire once again. Go figure Gene would contradict himself from things he's said in the press, that's not like him at all (sarcasm once again turned off)

Detroit Rock City - This one starts off with Paul saying that they never wrote songs about cities, however Ace did cover NY Groove so that may count depending on how anal you are. There also was about 6 cities mentioned in KISSin Time & Rockin In the USA had various country names in it. Bruce blows the solo in the version actually hits a bad note. Also watch very closely towards the end of the last verse you clearly hear Gene's voice sing "Get Up" but low & behold Gene is nowhere near a microphone, then he laughs and has a "Oh shit, we got caught" look.Yes my long tongue friend Detective Fogle is hot on your heels.It's really funny looking back how Paul busted on Milli Vanilli earlier in the show and they're doing the same thing only to a lesser extend obviously & also before the lip-synching of Milli Vanilli was uncovered. I also need to mention the coolest part of this song is watching Leon crumble to the ground actually the piece was lowered but who cares about specifics right? The band then takes their leave for the encores amidst all the smoke & pyro of the disappearing "giant Chimpanzee" In case your wondering why I keep referring to Leon as that pull out you Headbanger's Ball episode from Lubbock Texas and you'll see Paul refer to it as such.

I Want You - The boys come back out to a plain stage with just a mirror ball hanging above. Bruce & Paul do a nice little piece kind of reminiscent of classical music but cool anyway.

Now for the goose bump factor or at least it was the two times I saw this tour one being Eric's last show ever in MSG, which not many people, can lay claim to. As the song goes into the first verse seemingly from the ashes of Leon the KISS logo rises up in all its glory. Sadly though it's a cheesy replica of the logo as the K & the S's are odd looking to say the least. This is a solid performance though by the band, and a nice surprise in the set list. This tour & the Revenge tour were great alone for the set list changes bringing back songs they hadn't played for years.

Rock And Roll All Nite - One of the rough parts of doing this article/feature is trying to come up with something to say about this song each review.Luckily something is different so I may get a paragraph out of this song finally. Paul starts singing "Detroit" after the whole "I Want" section of the prior song followed by "Can you hear me?" Um, Paul that's a hell of a time to ask that now huh, at the end of the show? The band hits a big "A" chord and fades out into Eric pounding this infamous drum intro and goes into the song. There is a cheesy pinwheel effect at the end but no pyro or big explosions at the end of the song maybe due to cut backs on cost or fire laws who really knows the real reason. However it does end on a sour note due to no real pyro display we're all used to seeing.

Video Rating

I have to give this one a 7 due to all the mistakes, lack of performance & pyro. As for the video the quality is mint but the sound as you've read is unbalanced and not mixed properly. All in all it's worth getting since it's Eric last tour and the only good pro-shot in existence.As for handheld tapes London Ontario, Middletown & New Haven are great ones to own for those die-hards who collect the hand held tapes.

Well again I'm sorry it took forever (no pun intended) to write this but thanks for bearing with me as I wrote this review and of course to Chris & Beth for understanding that my writing had to take a back seat to my personal life for a while and for not pressuring me to turn in something just for the sake of having a new article I did want to publicly thank them for that.

Well until my next article everyone check out the Eric Carr & Unauthorized DVD's and of course keep rocking.

Byron

* Footnote * Mick Foley is a former WWF commissioner/wrestler & hardcore legend who used to say the name of the city he was in for a "cheap pop" or cheer from the crowd

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