KISS Rock The Amway Center In Orlando

By: William Clark

American hard rock icons KISS stormed their way into The Amway Center this past Friday, the first U.S. date on the band’s 2013 Monster tour.

Taking no prisoners, KISS is prepared to rock the nation unlike ever before with a maelstrom of pyrotechnics, stage props and engaging onstage antics.

A thousand strong, the KISS Army, many donning makeup in the same traditional style as their heroes, showed up that night ready to rock and roll all ‘nite: but not before a performance from opening act Leogun.

Just as the band grabbed their instruments and manned the stage, an audience member could be heard exclaiming, “We want KISS!”.

For more reasons than I can count, it would be very difficult to have anyone open up for KISS, let alone a mostly unknown rock band out of the United Kingdom. However, thanks to Leogun’s guitar driven style that ran in the vein of such groups as Rush and Led Zeppelin, as well as their energetic stage presence, they quickly won over the crowd.

After Leogun finished their set to the applause of the crowd, stagehands manically began tearing down the opening act’s equipment in order to prepare the stage for the spectacle that is KISS.

When you are in an arena filled to the brim with ecstatic, anxious rock and roll fans while waiting for this particular band time seems to flow by slower. After what seemed like an eternity, the lights dimmed and those infamous words echo out over the crowd: “Orlando! You wanted the best, you got the best! The hottest band in the world, KISS!”.

A massive black curtain drops, revealing Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons and Tommy Thayer riding down on a massive mechanical spider, while simultaneously playing the intro riff to “Psycho Circus”. There wasn’t a lazing eye in the entire house, as glimmering LED screens, elaborate pyrotechnics, and the classic on stage antics of the band members made sure to capture attention and keep the fueled crowd completely in their combined grip.

The entire band was in top form, as they tore through a set list comprised of fan favorites and their greatest hits. Following the final chord of “Psycho Circus”, KISS immediately started playing “Shout It Out Loud” to the delight of the crowd. “War Machine”, “Let Me Go Rock n’ Roll”, and “Heaven’s On Fire” soon followed.

KISS also played one of the songs off of their recently released studio album “Monster”: the lead single, “Hell or Hallelujah”. The band even included one of the songs from their 2009 critically acclaimed comeback album “Sonic Boom”. It just so happened to be my personal favorite from the album, “Say Yeah”, which included some strong group choruses and a powerful guitar solo from The Spaceman.

Each band member was given their own appropriate moment to stand out a little more than the others. First up was Tommy Thayer, who played a medley of “Shock Me/Outta This World”, just before firing rockets off of his guitar during a gloomy instrumental.

Gene Simmons took center stage for a menacing bass solo, when suddenly he was lit up in bright lights and met with the ringing of church bells. Every member of the audience rose to their feet and began cheering uncontrollably, as they knew it was time for The Demon’s classic blood spitting routine.

When he was finished, Gene was tethered to a wiring harness and launched up onto a platform high above the crowd, before he tore into a memorable performance of the Destroyer hit “God of Thunder”.

Next up was Paul Stanley, who led the crowd into screaming his name so he could fly out over the audience to a special mini-stage towards the back of the arena and sing “Love Gun”. Then the lights were darkened, and Paul began to play the infamous guitar intro to “Black Diamond” off of KISS’ debut album. “One, two, three, hit it!” Paul exclaimed and the rest of the band kicked in, just as Eric Singer aka The Catman took over lead vocal duties.

KISS ended the concert by performing a generous encore of “Lick It Up”, “I Was Made For Lovin’ You” and the definitive “Rock and Roll All Nite”. After the band withdrew, Paul Stanley returned on stage to smash one of his guitars, finally concluding “We’ve given you everything we’ve got! Goodnight!”. And it was evident, as every member of the attending audience that night left completely satisfied and looking forward to the next time KISS rolls into town.

GALLERY

Tommy Smith of Leogun.

Tommy Smith of Leogun.