Tuesday, November 3, 1998
Show proves aging band can kiss former fame goodbye
MUSIC: Has-beens try to rock and roll all night at dull
Halloween concert
By Vanessa VanderZanden
Daily Bruin Senior Staff
Maybe if they spent less time partying every day, KISS could
write better songs, put on a more original show, and plan a more
rockin’ Halloween night.
Instead, the members of KISS did nothing amazing in their
Halloween ’98 hoopla event. Advertised as the evening’s most
monstrous musical bash, KISS headlined for Smashing Pumpkins in a
three-dimensional spectacle, but the Dodger Stadium performance
left costumed fans feeling dispirited. What began as a fun-loving
nostalgic romp though ’70s glam rock became an endurance test of
how much cheese self-respecting concert-goers could wade
through.
To begin with, any event that has the Smashing Pumpkins, one of
the most original, steadfast bands to span the ’90s decade, warming
up for a painted crew of aging rockers, has issues to work through
from the outset. In addition, the early stage appearance of the
Pumpkins, going on at a bright and rosy 7 p.m., left many fans
stuck in traffic during the high points of their set.
Many of those that finally chugged up the bumper to
bumper-clogged hillside had already missed much of the whiny
guitar-droning, mainstream-breaking indie-band. Instead, they opted
to throw back beers with fellow black-and-white face-painted KISS
fans in the crisp parking lot air, rather than march around the
Dodger Stadium fortress in search of their elusive seats.
After trudging past hot dog venders, nacho chip sellers and row
after row of wrinkle-headed KISS groupies, white face paste
sticking to their long, fried rocker hair, audience members located
their places in the massive stadium. As if to add insult to injury,
those tricked out of catching the Smashing Pumpkins, whose short
set ended by 8 p.m., were treated to a pathetic group of mangy
circus performers.
Although the mid-band act gave the gaping crowd something to
watch between performances, the tiny in-field freak show was
swallowed by the open-air baseball arena. Displaying less than
death-defying stunts, such as climbing up poles in tights and lying
on a bed of nails, the circus troupe talents proved more of a
side-ring distraction than previously intended.
Meanwhile, self-absorbed fans perambulated around the outside
track of the baseball diamond, showing off their colorful disguises
and disregarding the lackluster scene surrounding them.
By the time KISS took the stage between two towering video
screens, hyped fans were more than ready to reap the rewards their
$50 tickets afforded them. Affixing their disposable 3-D
eyeglasses, swarming crowd members looked to the foreboding
outfield stage for trippy visuals offered as part of the
spectacle’s peculiar lure. Yet, what larger than life, in your face
visions the audience did receive came off as campy as snack-food
commercials geared toward fourth graders between after-school
cartoons.
As the black-clad, foam-costumed rockers strummed away at
repetitive cords, the screens flashed a shot or two of a
guitar-handle jutting out beyond the two-dimensional monitor, a
KISS band member sticking his tongue out in the background.
Running as though hooked on a continuous loop, this scene
pervaded the 3-D monitors every few minutes, as though no other use
could be dreamed up for the expensive 3-D projectors.
Eventually, every band member received a chance to sparkle in
their own gratuitous rock solo. So, as in every show the novelty
band has played since their glory days back in the ’70s, drummer
Eric Singer banged away on his drum set as it elevated mysteriously
high above the stage; bassist Gene Simmons spewed blood from his
mouth as he flew by wires mid-air, strumming his phallic vessel
before it exploded into flames; and lead singer Paul Stanley soared
high above the squirming pit at his feet to a raised platform a few
yards behind the masses for a solo of his own. In that respect, the
crowd got what they came for.
But by the time KISS ended their show with an encore of "Rock
and Roll All Night," many were glad the band didn’t heed the lyrics
of their trademark song. A large fireworks display lit up the sky,
allowing fans to reflect on the surprisingly sparsely-packed
stadium for such a seemingly huge event. As it turns out, while
KISS failed to pack in a sold-out show, they did manage to sell
out.
The psycho-circus event came as a result of a multimedia ploy to
launch a new comic book, with KISS band members as the lead
characters, written by the creator of Spawn. Along with the new
KISS album of uninspired songs and KISS action figures, this
Halloween event was geared to re-instill the KISS name in a mass
market of easily-targetable icon-worshippers.
Sadly, this year’s "next big thing" is a bunch of rotting
ex-rock stars hoping to cash in on the remnants of stale fame they
reaped years ago and never deserved in the first place.
MERCURY RECORDS
KISS returned to the stage for their ’98 Halloween hoopla event
at the Irvine Amphitheater.
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