After that Superchunk show I either took a break from seeing live music or only went to shows where I gave some guy $5 at the door and stood around with my friends watching 16 year olds play guitars. It's most likely the latter. Anyway, my good friend Geoff has kindly volunteered to be a guest blogger for a couple of shows. He remembers way more than I ever could, it's pretty amazing. My stubs are in better shape so at least I have that going for me.....
Growing up in the Detroit area I had become an idiot KISS fanatic by my teenage years.It seemed only natural enough though. As youth we were reminded of Kiss’s place in music history about every 5 minutes on classic rock radio. They were super popular in Detroit and the band even named a killer song after our city! I loved the smoking guitars, huge rising drum platforms, costumes, blood spitting, and the fire breathing that I heard about and saw in old videos!! That whole shtick got me, as it was supposed to. I was a dork that way. Friend’s parents even used to tell us about seeing Kiss back in the 70s and how great they were. They told us how no other bands today could even come close to putting on a better live show. I had recently turned 16 when I had the chance to see original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley and drummer Peter Criss play in town. We heard the rumors about decades of drug and alcohol addiction, but for only $10 I had to go see them play. It was the closest I could ever get to seeing the original thing I had heard so much about. It would be the first of my many future KISS experiences.
This show took place in Detroit’s famed rock and roll/heavy metal dump of a club; Harpos. Conveniently located in one of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Though it was a scary place, it soon became my favorite venue in the city because I could get away drinking beer as a minor there. We could also smoke lots of cigs without anyone caring either. I loved that place. What my parents did not know would not hurt them !
This was a pretty packed show which was not surprising. I personally think that any past, current or even future member of Kiss could come to Detroit in a coma, completely unable to play, and the show would still sell out. That’s how devoted the Kiss Army folks in Detroit are. Ace and Peter were fairly washed up at this point. None the less, my friends and I were excited to see them.
Before shows and in between bands, Harpos had a tradition of playing pre recorded MTV Headbangers Ball videos on an enormous drop down white screen that was lowered in front of the stage. It always pumped up the local metal heads. During this “screening” some drunkard near us kept yelling “BRING OUT THE CAT, BRING OUT THE CAT,” referring to drummer Peter Criss and his cat make up. This phrase, “Bring out the cat,” later became a funny saying my friend Waldo would yell out in crowded places at inappropriate times, always inciting a chuckle from those who knew the origin.
The cat and his band played first. I was only about fifteen feet away, and Peter looked old from behind the drum kit. He wore John Lennon rounded, blue glasses and was all wrinkly. He played decently enough but his bandmates were much younger than him and tried not to show him up too much. His set involved mostly Kiss songs that he originally sang, like Hard Luck Woman and Beth, as well as songs from his solo albums throughout the years. It was fun and kind of sad at the same time. Then Ace Frehley played his set. Ace was drunk for the show. Slurring into the mic between songs, telling bad jokes, and nearly falling over a few times, his intoxication showed. None the less, it was much more rocking then Peter’s set. It involved mainly the same thing: Ace singing his classic songs and solo tunes. Yet Ace’s band featured older musicians who had been in his Frehelys comet band since the 80s.
The best part of the night was at the end of Ace’s set when he invited Peter on stage to drum and the two of them belted out a handful of classic Kiss songs, including Detroit Rock City! Though there was no make up, no fire, or costumes, or blood and all the schtik that supposedly made them great, they rocked together with happiness and spirit. They were having a great time playing together and I could see a small glimpse of what it must have been like to see them perform back in the 1970s. Well worth the $10 ticket price and our car not getting broken into outside.
This show took place in Detroit’s famed rock and roll/heavy metal dump of a club; Harpos. Conveniently located in one of the city’s most dangerous neighborhoods. Though it was a scary place, it soon became my favorite venue in the city because I could get away drinking beer as a minor there. We could also smoke lots of cigs without anyone caring either. I loved that place. What my parents did not know would not hurt them !
This was a pretty packed show which was not surprising. I personally think that any past, current or even future member of Kiss could come to Detroit in a coma, completely unable to play, and the show would still sell out. That’s how devoted the Kiss Army folks in Detroit are. Ace and Peter were fairly washed up at this point. None the less, my friends and I were excited to see them.
Before shows and in between bands, Harpos had a tradition of playing pre recorded MTV Headbangers Ball videos on an enormous drop down white screen that was lowered in front of the stage. It always pumped up the local metal heads. During this “screening” some drunkard near us kept yelling “BRING OUT THE CAT, BRING OUT THE CAT,” referring to drummer Peter Criss and his cat make up. This phrase, “Bring out the cat,” later became a funny saying my friend Waldo would yell out in crowded places at inappropriate times, always inciting a chuckle from those who knew the origin.
The cat and his band played first. I was only about fifteen feet away, and Peter looked old from behind the drum kit. He wore John Lennon rounded, blue glasses and was all wrinkly. He played decently enough but his bandmates were much younger than him and tried not to show him up too much. His set involved mostly Kiss songs that he originally sang, like Hard Luck Woman and Beth, as well as songs from his solo albums throughout the years. It was fun and kind of sad at the same time. Then Ace Frehley played his set. Ace was drunk for the show. Slurring into the mic between songs, telling bad jokes, and nearly falling over a few times, his intoxication showed. None the less, it was much more rocking then Peter’s set. It involved mainly the same thing: Ace singing his classic songs and solo tunes. Yet Ace’s band featured older musicians who had been in his Frehelys comet band since the 80s.
The best part of the night was at the end of Ace’s set when he invited Peter on stage to drum and the two of them belted out a handful of classic Kiss songs, including Detroit Rock City! Though there was no make up, no fire, or costumes, or blood and all the schtik that supposedly made them great, they rocked together with happiness and spirit. They were having a great time playing together and I could see a small glimpse of what it must have been like to see them perform back in the 1970s. Well worth the $10 ticket price and our car not getting broken into outside.
Rockin
-G
