From: Chris Dickerson

KISS shows it still kicks ax

* Original lineup seems to be playing better than ever

* REVIEW

By CHRIS DICKERSON
CHARLESTON DAILY MAIL STAFF

KISS seems to be like a fine wine that gets better with age. The label on that bottle of wine just happens to be three-dimensional. With the original lineup of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss reuniting for the ultra-successful Alive Worldwide 1996-97 tour, the greasepainted rockers took the globe by storm. Longtime fans who had been clamoring for the reunion were more than satisfied. And if Tuesday night's show at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum is any indication, the band’s new Psycho Circus tour proves that it still can rock and roll all night. Econoline Crush, a five-man band that seemed a lot like Stone Temple Pilots, opened the show with a nondescript 25 minutes of work from their "The Devil We Know" disc. But this wasn't the band that the loud, but not quite capacity, crowd was there to see. KISS kicked off its two-hour performance with the title track from its new album, "Psycho Circus," a song that lends itself to the live experience. “The amplifiers start to hum . . . the carnival has just begun,” guitarist/vocalist Stanley sang. "Welcome to the show." Most of the two-hour set was KISS favorites from before 1977, when the original lineup first began to show signs of the enormous popularity it enjoyed. The classic cuts included "Shout It Out Loud,""Deuce," "Firehouse," "Shock Me," "Let Me Go Rock 'n' Roll," "Calling Dr. Love," "God of Thunder," "Cold Gin," "Love Gun," "100,000 Years," "Beth," "Detroit Rock City," "Black Diamond" and, of course, "Rock And Roll All Nite." Two other songs from the new album — "Into the Void" and "Within&" — were performed. And all of the other mayhem that is a KISS concert also was present. Simmons wagged his tongue, breathed fire, spit fake blood and flew to the rafters. Frehley burned his guitar up during his incredible solo and shot rockets with another ax. Criss' drum kit rose from the stage. Stanley danced and pranced all over the stage and flew over the crowd on a harness. There were enough pyrotechnics to take down an average city block. And so much confetti that it literally was still falling from the rafters 45 minutes after the end of the show. This time, however, all the action was accentuated by 3-D images shown throughout the show on a screen behind the band. The screen told the audience when to put on and take off the 3-D glasses handed out at the door. And instantly, through live and taped footage, it seemed as if Simmons' tongue was coming right at you. Stanley would flick a guitar pick at you. Criss would throw a drum stick at you. Frehley would stick the neck of his guitar toward you. The impressive 3-D effects only accentuated what is the greatest spectacle in music. Wearing kabuki-style makeup and putting on an incredible stage show might leave KISS known primarily as a visual band. But the group's members also are underappreciated as musicians. Frehley" flaming guitar is rigged to do so, but he easily could’ve made it burn on his own Tuesday night. His playing was 10 times sharper than on the last tour. Criss' drum solo was as good as it was back in the late '70s. "That was my best one so far on this tour" Criss said backstage after his solo. "I can't wait to see and hear a tape of it." Simmons said he thinks the band has improved since the original group reunited more than three years ago. "I think it shows that we're working hard" he said. "I hope the fans are pleased." Simmons doesn't need to worry.

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