KISS
with The Dead Daisies
Allphones Arena - Sydney, Australia
October 10th 2015
It was fantastic to see many members of the Kiss army and Rock n Roll fans hitting Allphones arena early to catch The Dead Daisies open the night’s proceedings. Consisting of past and present members of Guns n Roses, The Baby Animals, Motley Crue, Ratt, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake and more you just knew that this was going to be one hell of an opening to what turned out to be a killer night!
Want a show reviewed? Want to let us know about a tour? Contact digg [at] therockpit.net
For reviews of albums, DVD's, books and other music, head to our MUSIC REVIEWS section.
Fronted by the incredible John Corabi, The Dead Daisies took to the stage in fine rock form opening with the killer tune 'Midnight Moses' and the crowd loved them. The band played an incredible set which featured many of the brand new tracks from 'Revolución' including 'Empty Heart' and the rockin "love song" 'Devil Out of Time'. Real rock fans in the crowd were also treated to a couple of awesome covers including Deep Purple's 'Hush' and The Beatles 'Helter Skelter' which I have waited years to hear Corabi belt out and Damn what a fine job he did!
Having seen many of the members of The Dead Daisies play over the years in different bands, I must say watching them all onstage together was phenomenal, all true professionals and all fantastic to watch in their own rights, for example... John Corabi is hands down one of the last great frontman, he knows how to work a stage, work a crowd and has the rock moves and voice to match, Marco Mendoza is a monster onstage from thrusting rock moves to spinning around in circles this dude never stops moving around, and for me probably the most entertaining member to watch on the night was drummer extraordinaire Brian Tichy.. what an animal behind a drum kit... drum sticks flying in the air, drum chucks swinging and spinning, just a pure rock n roll animal behind the kit and a true joy to witness live!
I have to say I was a little disappointed that The Dead Daisies couldn't play longer, I loved their set so much, I could have easily watched them play for two hours, I really hope the band returns to our shores again soon for another run of even longer performances. If you missed out on seeing these guys, you missed some memorable live performances and for those attending Brisbane and New Zealand I urge you to make sure you get there early to watch this band rock you to the ground!
Up next were the Rock 'n' Roll monsters.... KISS! Kiss hit Sydney on Saturday night as part of the bands 40th Anniversary tour but it's in fact 42 years since these guys started out in the Lofts of New York City creating many of the songs that all these years later filled Allphones Arena. One of the coolest things about when Kiss is in town is that you don’t just attend another concert... The build up to seeing Kiss live is something entirely different. For days before hand Kiss are everywhere... the radio, the newspapers, the TV and all over social media and the excitement levels are through the roof, unlike gearing up to see any other band on the planet!
You have to remember... Kiss don't just put on a live concert, they put on a full-scale balls to the wall rock 'n' roll spectacle. Anyone that may have seen Kiss for the first time in Sydney this week, I have no doubt they left the building with their jaw to the floor in complete awe of the bombastic hair raising two hour Kiss onslaught that they had just witnessed! This wasn't my first Kiss experience, this was in fact the 11th time I had seen the band perform live and with that many Kiss shows under my belt you might think by now I would be bored with it... Well, you would be wrong! If only we could see that show every few weeks right? The band opened the show in fine form, the massive Kiss logo curtain draped across the stage, the lights dimmed, the roar of the crowd... unlike anything you ever hear at other shows and then those words that set Kiss apart from every other band on the planet... "You Wanted the Best, You Got the Best. The Hottest Band in the World... KISS!"
And BOOM the show was underway with an electrifying display of lighting, dry ice, pyrotechnics and the bands incredible Spider light truss which lowered the band to the stage whilst rocking out the opening riffs of 'Detroit Rock City'. What can you say that hasn't been said already on this tour? The band rocked hard, Paul's voice held up very well, but for me Gene stole the show. I have never heard Gene sing as well as he did this time around, no mistakes lyrically either which was nice. Tommy Thayer's guitar playing by far on this tour was more impressive than any other time I have seen him perform with Kiss. Tommy's solo was incredible rockets flying to the left, right and centre of the stage, and his stage presence has stepped up tenfold since the bands last Australian visit. The incredible Eric Singers drumming was simply exceptional, and his Pearl drum-kit covered in led-lights looks unreal. I was really hoping for a longer drum solo to be honest but that being said I actually think that all the solos on the night were perfect in length; not drawn out toilet breaks as I've seen in recent years from other rock bands.
I had seen the set-list prior to Kiss taking to the stage and I honestly wasn't all that thrilled with it, well, not until they started anyways. Once the band hit the stage the songs just flowed perfectly. 'Deuce' was and always is a crowd favourite... watching the band doing their signature moves towards the end of the song with flames shooting off in all directions from behind them, it never gets old. I loved hearing three songs from the 'Creatures of the Night' album, What I think I loved most on the night surprisingly was 'Do You Love Me'. It has never been a favourite song for me but watching the video screens behind the band paying homage to all era's of the band from Peter Criss and Ace Frehley to Vinnie Vincent, Mark St John, Bruce Kulick and the late great Eric Carr... that was friggin' awesome.
I actually really loved the video compilation and loved the fact that like in other documentaries and Kiss specials in recent years they didn't just brush over the years without make-up! Another moment that left me speechless was when Paul took centre stage guitar in hand for an incredible rendition of 'Shandi'. The sold-out arena lit up, it was magical to say the least, arms raised to the sky, lighters and phone flashes in hand and the 20,000+ fans lit up that place unlike anything I have ever seen.
There's no doubt that there's a certain part of the Kiss live experience that draws many punters to the show and that's the massive extravagant stage shows and this tour certainly didn't disappoint. The Spider stage was incredible. Weighing in at 43 thousand kilograms and 220 lights attached this contraption is phenomenal. It was nice to see laser lights shooting back around the arena whilst Kiss classics played. The last time i remember Kiss using lasers in Australia was on the 1995 Kiss My Ass Down under tour, but the highlight is watching the Spider stage come to life during various points of the show.
Above all what I loved about tonight's show was just simply how much fun the band was having onstage. In all the years and countless shows I have seen them do, I can't recall ever seeing them personally having so much fun onstage. Constant laughing was coming from all members and you could feel that they were having fun with it and it sure radiated into the crowd. 42 years after Kiss started, the shows keep getting bigger and it's clear that this band has no intention of throwing in the towel anytime soon. Do yourself a favour and make sure you get out and see Kiss on this tour, not only bringing the Spider stage to life but breathing new life into some great classic Kiss tunes!
Kiss Set-list
Detroit Rock City
Deuce
Psycho Circus
Creatures of the Night
I Love it Loud
War Machine
Do You Love Me?
Hell or Hallelujah
Calling Dr Love / Gene Fire Breathing
Lick It Up / Won't Get fooled Again (Who Cover)
Gene Solo/Blood spitting
God of Thunder
Cold Gin
Love Gun
Black Diamond
Shandi
Shout It Out Loud
I Was Made For Loving You
Rock and Roll All Nite
