The Sheffield Scenester

A cold and very wet Saturday evening in Sheffield was the setting for the first show of the 'Sonic Boom Over Europe' tour, as Kiss set out to remind everyone that there's plenty of life left in them after more than 35 years of rockin'.

But first we had the pleasure of hearing from support band, Taking Dawn, who by contrast, are very much at the start of their career. Having recently supported Airbourne on their UK tour, Taking Dawn were then unable to return home to Las Vegas due to the volcano eruption in Iceland. Having spoken to lead singer, Chris Babbitt, it was clear that the whole experience had become something of a blur and that being stranded had left the young band feeling physically and mentally drained. But they put that aside to make the most of their biggest indoor show to date and any pre-show nerves or fatigue weren't apparent. Drawing on their influences such as Motley Crue, Guns 'n' Roses, and Bon Jovi, Taking Dawn put something of a heavier, almost fierce spin on the 80's "hair metal" scene. Having just released their debut album, 'Time to Burn', I think we'll be hearing a lot more from them in the future.

We may still have been cold and wet from the rain as we eagerly awaited Paul Stanley and his band of rock legends to explode onto the stage, but the constant explosions of pyrotechnics and fire balls which followed soon dried us off and warmed us up. Striding out in their trademark makeup, outrageous outfits and huge platforms, Kiss meant business and intended on sending everyone home deliriously happy.

Ripping into the opening song, 'Modern Day Delilah', it's clear that the new material will go down just as well as the classics on this tour. The power and pace of this song, coupled with equally enthusiastic audience participation, set the tone for an amazing two hour set. The pace of the show was furious, the time taken between songs is kept to a minimum, and it seemed like the band couldn't wait to launch into popular numbers such as, 'Firehouse', 'Calling Dr Love' and 'Cold Gin'. In amongst all this was the epic, 'Crazy Crazy Nights'. Even the die-hard members of the Kiss Army who had travelled from Spain, France and Italy were stunned as this classic track was introduced. A real treat.

Every once in a while, there are moments in rock 'n' roll which have the ability to bring people from all walks of life together. For a few minutes you're together as one and it's a beautiful feeling. This was one of those moments.
Standing at the front and occasionally glancing behind me, all I could see were broad smiles of fans, old and young, who almost couldn't believe what they were witnessing. Quite right, too; when Gene Simmons looks you in the eye, growls, and sticks out that tongue of his, it's a very surreal experience, believe me!

Watching the band up close, it's so impressive how musically talented and professional they are. Even with the stage antics and persona that Simmons maintains throughout the show, he never loses focus on the most important aspect of the performance and directs things from his side of the stage to ensure that every song is played to the highest standard. Over the years, Kiss have been accused of trying to make money from anything and everything. Some may agree, some may not, but it's clear that with this tour they're all about giving us value for our hard earned cash.

It's not long before the stunts and theatrics which have given Kiss their legendary status started to appear. Almost every song in the show either opens or closes with huge fireworks and, more often than not, the chorus of a song is punctuated with explosions of fire. Simmons also decided to get in on the act and display his fire-breathing skills, as you do. Things took a more gruesome turn later on when he eerily starts to twitch and convulse during a short bass solo, culminating with him spitting blood and being lifted twenty feet high above us on a wire to a waiting microphone in the rafters. He performed the next song from high above before being lowered down at speed to rejoin the rest of the band. There's a sense of one-upmanship as guitarist, Tommy "The Spaceman" Thayer and drummer, Eric "The Catman" Singer get in on the act during an instrumental which gives Simmons and Stanley a well deserved moment to rest. I've seen plenty of drummers and guitarists have a bit of a jam half way through a show, but I've never seen them be elevated high above us or shoot cannons across the stage in the process. To the long time Kiss fans, this is to be expected. To the newly initiated, this is one of the greatest things you'll ever see. Not to be outdone, guitarist Paul Stanley made his mark during, 'I Was Made for Lovin' You' when he was flown out into the middle of the arena to perform the song from a second stage.

Kiss closed their main set with perfectly executed renditions of 'Love Gun', 'Black Diamond' and fan favourite, 'Detroit Rock City'. Stanley introduced the latter song, noting that it was of course written about a Steel City, just like this great city of ours. It opens with the words, "Feeling uptight on a Saturday Night", but by that point we were anything but uptight and everyone in the seated areas did indeed, "leave their seat" as the entire arena came together to sing yet another catchy Kiss chorus, resulting in a thunderous round of applause as the band left the stage.

The thirty minute encore included classics such as, 'Lick it Up', 'Shout it out Loud' and 'God Gave Rock 'n' Roll to You'. By that time, it did actually feel like something of a religious experience.
The finale of the show was of course the anthem, 'Rock and Roll All Night'. If that had been an invitation, I'm sure everyone in the arena would have accepted. Nobody wanted this party to end. As the band left the stage for the final time, with unimaginable amounts of white confetti being launched out into the crowd in the process, it was hard not to be moved to tears, such was the spectacle of the show.

If the mission was to send everyone home deliriously happy, it was very much a case of mission accomplished!

Words/Photos by Paul Handley