Kissburgh 2012: Kiss Takes Over Pittsburgh and makes Kisstory

-All photos Alan Welding property of Pittsburgh Music Magazine

Kiss brought the classic horror kabuki rock n roll circus back into Pittsburgh last night with none other than Motley Crue and The Treatment with them. The gods of rock truly smiled upon the Burgh because all three band brought their “A” game and gave every ticket holder their monies worth and then some. The crowd was truly primed and ready with make up, dragon boots, vintage concert tees, and their hands horns up. The clamor for merchandise was unbelievable; the lines were ridiculously deep until the first notes of Crue. Pittsburgh loves their metal acts and like all metal cities and fans, we proved just how loyal by packing First Niagara from top to bottom. A perfect summer night (besides being very hot) set off the evening having the rain past us and the music ahead of us. The show included all the trappings you expect at a Kiss show: a grand entrance, Gene spitting blood and breathing fire, Paul and Gene flying in the air, pyrotechnics, Tommy Thayer’s blazing guitar work, and Eric Singer’s bold backbeat. The lights, the sound, the screens all brought Kiss up close and personal. There is a reason that Kiss has been around since the 70’s- they know how to play an audience and keep them coming back for more. Even though Gene’s bass solo has been seen by many of fans over a dozen times in person, it never gets old. The crazy demon eyes batting back and forth, the bass shaking your innards, the blood dripping from his throat and covering his body- it’s all part of the fun that has kept everyone enthralled by the music superheroes. Particularly enjoyable was Paul’s use of the wires to go into the middle of the audience to sing and strut his way on a platform by the sound stage. Even though many miss Ace and Chris, Tommy and Eric are great musicians in their own right and certainly have all the moves down to transport back to your heydays or to create some new ones. Personally, PMM cannot wait until the boys come back to blow us away another time. Hopefully Kiss and Motley Crue will continue their ways of the past few years by visiting every summer and taking us back to 70’s and 80’s and being part of our history.

Pittsburgh Setlist:
Detroit Rock City
Shout It Out Loud
I Love It Loud
Firehouse
Hell or Hallelujah
War Machine
Shock Me
God of Thunder
Love Gun
Lick It Up
Black Diamond
Encore:
Deuce
Rock and Roll All Nite