ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON MARCH 18, 1988
By Steve Newton
One of the most memorable concerts of this scribbler’s young life was seeing Kiss at the Commodore Ballroom just after the release of its second album, Hotter Than Hell.
A bunch of my buddies and I had crammed into a rented van and driven up from Chilliwack, where we’d spent the past year making Gene Simmons faces and playing air guitar to great tunes like “Strutter”, “Deuce”, and “Black Diamond”.
The sight of these four crazy men in makeup spitting out heavy power chords (not to mention fire and fake blood) was enough to keep us in bliss for hours afterwards.
Some people still remember Kiss, but most don’t really care. Of the 4,800 or so that saw their show at the Pacific Coliseum last Friday (March 11) many were there to see the opening act, an up-and-coming metal band called Anthrax.
About half as old as the members of Kiss, Anthrax put on a lively show that had the hard-core headbangers up front going wild. The band delivered theme music for a nuclear holocaust, slipping in an interesting (but highly rude) rap song, and getting back to their punk roots with the Sex Pistols’ “God Save the Queen”.
Curious, I asked a female Anthrax fan next to me what she liked about them. “The beat”, she offered quickly, “and the long hair.” Yeah, I guess the hair was okay.
When Kiss’s famous logo rose at the back of the stage, bedecked in flashing white lights, the band came bounding out and launched into one of its worst songs ever, “Love Gun”. Gene Simmons, looking pretty healthy with his movie star tan, pointed at girls at the front of the stage and flashed them his reptilian tongue. Paul Stanley, the other original member, screeched “How aw yaa!” with the cracked and strained voice he’s famous for, and it was 1975, Kiss Alive! time once again…
…almost. Back then their material was a lot more consistent; nowadays their repertoire contains such forgettables as “Bang Bang You” and “Fits Like a Glove”. The band did sound good however on one of their latter-day tunes, “Heaven’s On Fire”. (If they came up with a few more anthems like that, they could get back into the rock race.)
The lowest point in the show came during Stanley’s painfully long introductory spiel to “Lick It Up”, in which he described an erotic (imaginary?) encounter at one of Vancouver’s health clubs. If I wasn’t such a devoted, stay-till-the-end rock critic, I would have gone before you could say “obnoxious, self-centred, sexist creep”.
When the band left the stage for the first time the crowd went mild, but Kiss came back on anyway, trying to save the night’s performance with some early hits like “Rock and Roll All Night” and “Detroit Rock City”.
It didn’t work, though.
To hear the full audio of my interviews with Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Eric Carr from Kiss–and three guys from Anthrax as well–subscribe to my Patreon page, where you can eavesdrop on 300 my uncut, one-on-one conversations with:
Dave Martone, 2020
Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, 2006
Joss Stone, 2012
Glenn Tipton of Judas Priest, 2005
Jack Blades of Night Ranger, 1984
Vivian Campbell of Def Leppard, 1992
Colin James, 1995
Kim Simmonds of Savoy Brown, 1998
Tom Cochrane of Red Rider, 1983
Ed Roland of Collective Soul, 1995
Taj Mahal, 2001
Tom Wilson of Junkhouse, 1995
Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, 2003
David Lindley, 2002
Marty Friedman of Megadeth, 1991
John Hiatt, 2010
Nancy Wilson of Heart, 2006
Jeff Golub, 1989
Moe Berg of the Pursuit of Happiness, 1990
Todd Rundgren, 2006
Chad Kroeger of Nickelback, 2001
Steve Earle, 1987
Gabby Gaborno of the Cadillac Tramps, 1991
Terry Bozzio, 2003
Roger Glover, 1985
Matthew Sweet, 1995
Jim McCarty of the Yardbirds, 2003
Luther Dickinson of North Mississippi Allstars, 2001
John Rzeznik of the Goo Goo Dolls, 1995
Steve Hackett from Genesis, 1993
Grace Potter, 2008
Buddy Guy, 1993
Steve Lynch of Autograph, 1985
Don Wilson of the Ventures, 1997
Gordie Johnson of Big Sugar, 1998
Trevor Rabin of Yes, 1984
Albert Lee, 1986
Yngwie Malmsteen, 1985
Robert Cray, 1996
Tony Carey, 1984
Ian Hunter, 1988
Kate Bush, 1985
David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, 1984
Jeff Healey, 1988
Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip, 1996
Richie Sambora of Bon Jovi, 1993
Colin Linden, 1993
Kenny Wayne Shepherd, 1995
Justin Hayward of the Moody Blues, 1986
Elliot Easton from the Cars, 1996
Wayne Kramer from the MC5, 2004
Bob Rock, 1992
Nick Gilder, 1985
Klaus Meine of Scorpions, 1988
Jason Bonham, 1989
Tom Johnston of the Doobie Brothers, 1991
Joey Spampinato of NRBQ, 1985
Patterson Hood of the Drive-By Truckers, 2003
Andy Powell of Wishbone Ash, 2003
Steve Kilbey of the Church, 1990
Edgar Winter, 2005
Johnette Napolitano of Concrete Blonde, 1990
Randy Hansen, 2001
Dan McCafferty of Nazareth, 1984
Davy Knowles of Back Door Slam, 2007
Jimmy Barnes from Cold Chisel, 1986
Steve Stevens of Atomic Playboys, 1989
Billy Idol, 1984
Stuart Adamson of Big Country, 1993
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull, 1992
Warren Haynes of Gov’t Mule, 1998
John Bell of Widespread Panic, 1992
Robben Ford, 1993
Barry Hay of Golden Earring, 1984
Jason Isbell, 2007
Joey Belladonna of Anthrax, 1991
Joe Satriani, 1990
Vernon Reid of Living Colour, 1988
Brad Delp of Boston, 1988
Zakk Wylde of Pride & Glory, 1994
John Sykes of Blue Murder, 1989
Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, 1998
Lars Ulrich of Metallica, 1985
John Doe, 1990
Shannon Hoon of Blind Melon, 1992
Myles Goodwyn of April Wine, 2001
John Mellencamp, 1999
Mike Campbell of Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, 1999
Kenny Aronoff, 1999
…with hundreds more to come