We wanted the best and we got the best, the hottest band in the world, KISS! They gave a final farewell to the Toon and we loved it!
I can’t remember the first time I came across KISS to be honest, I think I heard “Rock and Roll All Nite” playing on the radio a few times and the first video I watched of theirs was “Lick It Up” with Gene Simmons gurning like a predator. It made me recoil then as a 15 year old girl and it still does now as a 31 year old woman. Ick.
They are a band adored by so many cross the globe for both fans young and old, I admit I enjoy a lot of their tracks but I wouldn’t say they were a band I was dying to see. I originally didn’t have tickets for the show. When the tickets went up for sale and after I saw the price I thought, hmm, bit pricey for a band I only know the hits of. But after interviewing the opening band The Wild Things, I received a ticket from my friend Alan at Koast Radio and I have to say, it was an awesome
The Wild Things
Spunky and full of attitude with a sprinkling of cute, The Wild Things sounded amazing! The band is from London but have charted all over the world including South Africa, Chile, Singapore, Luxembourg with their music and have amassed over 10 million views on TikTok. The master of this ship is the pixie fire cracker Sydney who bounded across the stage with a megaphone during their song “Heaven Knows”, surprisingly there was no effect on the microphone and sounded perfect, so a thumbs up to the sound guy! They also performed their latest single “Paradise” which is off their upcoming album “Afterglow”.
The single “Paradise” was co-produced and co-written by the legend no that is Pete Townsend who said “They have something special, and they’re right for the time.”
The crowd sadly was rather small, which I think wasn’t due to the fact that people didn’t want to see them but because all the timings that were posted online and on the arena’s website stated that everything started at 7.30pm. The Wild Things kicked everything off at 6.50pm. The lack of attendance went un-noticed by the band who I managed to catch up with after their performance by the Merch stand. Not saying nobody saw them because there was a fair few people, just not as many as I thought they deserved especially since they are a bit of fresh blood into the scene.
The set ended with their track “Drunk Again” which I feel was a very fitting end for the Toon crowd. The Wild Things loved the Newcastle crowd and said they can’t wait to come back later in the year, fingers crossed they do! It was great to meet them physically in person after interviewing them last week via Zoom.
Listen to the interview over on my AOR Show on Mixcloud.
Skindred
The South Wales natives churned up the crowd who were now filtering in hearing the naughty rumbles of some low tuned guitars. Skindred formed in Newport back in 1999 and are defined by their distinct genre of alternative reggae metal. The band has travelled the world playing to hundreds of thousands of people and played some of the biggest festivals in the world including Bloodstock and this years Download.
My brother has harped on about seeing them live for years and now I finally have. Benji is an immaculate and an immensely engaging front man. He had three different jackets and two different sets of his infamous sun glasses, with the swagger of a rock star which he totally deserves. Trying to get thousands of people to sing “If You’re Happy and You Know It” and getting one half of the room to whoop whoop and the other to sing “That’s My Jam” is no small feat.
I have to admit, the room seemed to be split on their thoughts about Skindred. I was sat in block 101 about half way up so I had a decent view of the whole room. I was taking in people’s facial expressions and came to the conclusion that the older generation didn’t like them. Too loud, maybe too dirty instrumentally, and just didn’t feel the heavy metal reggae vibe so they just sat with their arms crossed and shaking their heads. The flipside of that reaction was a lot of Zoomers realising these were the guys trending on TikTok with it’s own dance to their hit song “Nobody”.
Of course they ended their set with “Warning” which in itself is famous for the ‘Newport Helicopter’. Taking your shirt off, holding it up above your head until the break down drops and you just swing that sweaty infested rag around your head. Newcastle was well into this and looked pretty damn cool. Needless to say I will definitely try to catch Skindred again. They are on tour towards the end of the year to support the release of their new album “Smile” which you can pre-order now and will be released on 4th August.
KISS
They are infamous all over the world for their make up, the cartoon esk characters of the Starchild (Paul Stanley), the Demon (Gene Simmons), the Spaceman or Space Ace (Ace Frehley), and the Catman (Peter Criss). Ace Frehley left due to creative differences in 1982 like Peter Criss did in 1980 although the guys would return later on down the road.
For a while the band ditched the make up and outfits for a more relaxed(ish) look for the glam metal era. They later returned to their full regalia during the 1990s and they say the rest is history. But that history is slowing coming to its end.
The End of the Road World Tour started in January 2019 and will conclude in December 2023. Tuesday 6th June 2023 was the last time Newcastle would lay their eyes upon KISS.
I have to say, I wouldn’t consider myself a KISS fan even though I do enjoy their songs but only the ones that are more in common knowledge. “Lick It Up”, “Heaven’s On Fire”, “I Was Made for Loving You” and all of those. I appreciate their contribution to rock music and their showmanship is beyond comparison.
The stage show was amazing as were the lights throughout the show, truly mesmerizing especially during Eric Singer’s drum solo. May I add that he has an incredible voice too! The room packed out obviously when the roaring cheers of die hard fans rumbled through the arena and as always, a video of the guys coming to the stage was shown on two huge screens either side of the stage. The huge booming voice announced “Alright Newcastle, you wanted the best, you got the best, the hottest band in the world…KISS!” Off went the pyros, the curtain dropped and from the heaven’s KISS came down to the stage with their track “Detroit Rock City”.
The setlist included their hits as expected and some tracks I had never heard of. During the show Paul and Tommy Thayer had a little guitar solo fight which for me was rather underwhelming. I wouldn’t call Paul Stanley a brilliant instrumentalist but as a frontman and performer, outstanding.
Gene as always walking around dribbling and drooling, did his own bass solo and solo performance spouting out blood before going into “God of Thunder”. Gene gyrating his hips and rubbing legs while flapping his tongue about just really gives me the ick. I know it’s his thing, the long tongue, and bragging about his sexual appetite and all that jazz, but for me it’s a ew…nah.
Paul Stanley on the other hand has still got the moves. Dancing and shimmying across the stage, still had a touch of sexiness about it. He’s the same age as my Grandad so that’s totally out of the question but it did make me think, I need to up my stage outfit game.
The sparkly jumpsuits, knee high silver platform boots, and huge silver shoulder pads, it’s a great feast for the eyes.
Of course, Paul ziplined across the crowd to the second stage to perform one of my personal favourites “Love Gun” and of course “I Was Made for Loving You”. The whole room erupted into a massive party mood and the streamers fell from the ceiling. Giant balls were also tossed from the rafters and were bounced around the arena by the crowd. After a while a few people just kept hold of them and wouldn’t let go, a souvenir for nothing I guess.
The encore was a beautiful performance of “Beth” by Eric Singer on a sparkling piano with the crowd erupting in appreciation. Eric’s voice is almost perfect as was Gene’s throughout the night but I have to say Paul’s vocal performance was weak in some places. Gene did the majority of the singing to be honest but it still didn’t deter from the overall spectacle. It was a great party and I’m glad to have seen them at least once in my lifetime.
Overall Thoughts
It was an evening of great music, starting out with the new kids on the block, going onto the seasoned professionals and then having a blast with the veterans. It was a little sad that the crowd for The Wild Things was quite small. I think especially now whether you are at an arena gig or at a pub gig, to show your support for new music is extremely important. Doesn’t help that the arena stated that everything was kicking off at 7.30pm when it was actually 6.50pm but what can you do.
To catch Skindred at a glam metal gig was a rather fun surprise. Not that it bothered me, as I like many different genres of rock and play many different variations of rock but I must say for people of the older generation who were there, it might have been a touch too much. I love the dirty bassline, thundering drums and the rhythmic flow of Benji and his audience interaction was magnificent. The crowd was really responsive to the rasta metal genre and of course the Newport Helicopter was a sight to behold, a load of semi naked tatted geordies flinging their shirts around their head with all their might.
KISS is definitely one of the greatest bands of all time. I have never proclaimed to be a hard core fan or a part of the KISS Army but their music has always had a certain appeal. It’s all about having a good time, whether it is partying, sneaking in the sheets or blessing the lord for giving rock n roll to us.
I think I would have appreciated them vocally a lot more about 10 years ago, I have waited until the very end to catch them but saying that, I think I will be feeling the same about a lot of bands who are approaching the pearly gates of rock n roll. Overall it has been an experience and the memories I have from that night will stay with me forever.
God gave rock n roll to you, and you certainly did him proud!
GlamRat 