A Lil KISStory Song of the Day

Normally the day after I see a concert, I'll usually post a song from the artist I'd just seen (see P!nk, Lily Allen, Robyn, etc. etc. etc.) along with some commentary and maybe even a supplemental post on the show itself.  Today, I thought I'd try something a little different...

You wanted the best, you got the best

The hottest band in the land,

KISS

Last night, I saw KISS, my very first musical heroes, at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island.  It was to be their very last performance there.  The band, who's been rocking and rolling for over forty years now, is taking a "victory lap" of sorts before unmasking it forever.   The End of the Road Tour, which began in January, will see the band perform 105 shows on three continents through the end of the year and that will be it for these most  master entertainers of the rock world.  

I first discovered KISS way back in the late 70's.  I was a kid of about 15 and my very first musical inclinations were definitively towards the rock side of the spectrum.  The foursome of Gene Simmons, Paul Stanley, Ace Frehley and Peter Criss and the personas they embodied were a wondrous way to go all in to a band and its music and everything in between.

RollingStone

Not long after I'd been inculcated into the KISS Army, my favorite band came to the Nassau Coliseum, and my mother was gracious enough to take me and my little brother.  It was September 1st, 1979 and KISS was touring in support of their latest record, Dynasty.  I came to the show armed with a special cardboard and aluminum foil KISS logo I had made for the occasion, as well as a fire hat to wear during the performance of their song Firehouse.  This was my very first concert experience ever and looking back, wow was I lucky for that to have been my intro to what would become a lifetime of concert-going.  

The disco era was in full rage and many KISS fans were upset over the album's debut single, I Was Made For Loving You, which many took as an affront to the hard-driving rock and roll the band was known for, but I didn't care.  Maybe it was because I would soon change gears musically, but I loved the song... 

In the years that followed, I discovered both my sexuality and Diana Ross, lol, and my interest in KISS began to wane.  Being my first musical love, though, forever endeared them in my eyes and though I stopped listening regularly, every once in awhile I would pop them into either the tape recorder, the CD player, and on iTunes, and whenever they came to town, I would most always try and catch them.  

When End of the Road was announce back in the fall, my brother immediately called to ask if I was interested in going.  The answer was a resounding YES!  Though the Ace and Peter are long gone and replaced by current members Tommy Thayer and Eric Carr, the magic of a KISS live show has not waned a bit.  Having been a fan of them for, gulp, forty-plus years, I've come to expect the various parts of a show filled with fireworks and explosions, blood-letting and fire-throwing, Paul Stanley's iconic interactions with the audience and much, much more, it's still a spectacle that everyone enjoys and they have always loved giving their fans what they want.

The audience was filled with forty and fifty-somethings like myself, and like me, I'm sure they all came for the same reasons I did...their love of the band.  We all got to experience two hours of non-stop multi-sensory entertainment and we all were loving it.   

Though they didn't perform this next song last night, here's one of my favorite KISS tunes of all time.  Written by Paul Stanley and sung by Peter Criss (and once covered by country sensation Garth Brooks!), it's one KISS song that is one of the best rock ballads of all time.  Please enjoy Hard Luck Woman...

So a big thank you to KISS for the music, for the excitement and wonder, and most of all for the entertainment and joy you still bring to millions around the world.  You will always have a dear place in my heart!