When we arrived the day of the show we were personally escorted to our seats by security. We soon realized we didn't have sixth row seats. OUR SEATS WERE IN THE THIRD ROW!!!!!!!!!!!!! My face must have shown my confusion and joy, because some girls behind us started giggling and pointing at me, in a nice way. I smiled back and Brian and I couldn't believe our good fortune!
Opening band Saliva was on when we arrived, and we saw almost all of their set. I have their first album, but wasn't sure what to expect live. They were actually pretty good. The band was solid, and singer Josey Scott sounded great. I can't ignore the exchange of energy when so close to the stage, so I was almost the only one standing up for this part of the show. One of the guitarists was throwing picks and various things into the crowd. I managed to grab their setlist! My first setlist. I am so proud. :o)
Saliva's Set List: Click, Click Boom; Pride ; W.O.T.W. ; Holdin On ; Rest ; Always ; Your Disease
After a short break, Kiss took the stage with all the pomp and circumstance we have come to expect. We were on the left, which is mostly Gene's side, but all the guys made an appearance on our side of the stage. Paul pranced, Gene waggled his tongue, and Tommy Thayer made an excellent Space Man. There was lots of interaction with the fans. Paul acknowledged both the Kiss Army and the Aeroforce One fanclubs. I know everyone thinks Kiss are money-hungry jerks, but they do seem to genuinely care about their fans during the show. I have never had a band make me personally feel so special before. I had more than one interaction with Gene (he even stopped and waved to me during a song! LOL), and Paul once pointed at me, and patted his heart! I couldn't believe that one. My big Kiss "thing" has always been to get a rose from Peter Criss after he sings "Beth." I have never been close enough to have this option before. This time, after "Beth" Peter had several roses and, after tossing them to some girls on the opposite side of the stage, he walked over to our side. He paused and scanned the audience for a moment, to find spots with girls, I presumed. He then squatted down and tossed two roses directly at me and the girl sitting next to me (hi Sandra!). Brian was on my right and took a picture of this, which you can see at the bottom of the page. Unfortunately, there were two rude men in front of us whom we came to refer to as the Chair Nazi (because he kept slamming his chair back into my legs) and the Grabby Canuck (because he spoke French and ripped everything any band threw - including trying to get the setlist - right out of my bare hands). And - you got it - Chair Nazi and Grabby Canuck literally grabbed the flowers out of our almost closed hands and stuck them violently in their women's faces. I was so disappointed. Just because one is stupid enough to pay 5-10 times as much as I did for a seat does not mean they have the right to ruin my time. $128.50 is not a drop in the bucket for me, either! But I know that's how it goes at concerts.It was such a diappointment that I lightly hugged Sandra, whom I had just met, and we agreed that it was rude and it sucked. Anyway, a few seconds later I found some ripped off leaves on Chair Nazi's seat and grabbed them for Sandra and I. At least we got something. Kiss' set was amazing to see up close and I will not forget it as long as I live. In fact, it took me about 3 days just to stop thinking about it! I love that great concert high!
Kiss' Set List: Detroit Rock City ; Deuce ; Shout It Out Loud ; Do You Love Me? ; Let Me Go, Rock 'N Roll ; I Love It Loud ; Firehouse ; God Of Thunder ; 100,000 Years ; I Want You ; Black Diamond ; Beth ; Love Gun ;Rock And Roll All Nite
Aerosmith has been one of my favorite bands for at least 16 years. I had high hopes for this show, especially sitting so close. They came out and sounded fantastic, just as you'd expect. Steven Tyler owned the stage. Unfortunately, he was about the only one who did. Aerosmith's stage had a huge catwalk going up the center aisle, and also extending very far on the outside of both sides of the floor. This is absolutely fine, except that Steven and Joe spent just about all of their time somewhere on the catwalks. Brian and I kept asking each other "uh, where's Steven? Where'd Joe go?" and it made for a sort of obnoxious experience. The only person consistently in front of us was Brad Whitford (and occasionally Tom Hamilton), and while he's a great guitarist, he ain't exactly fireworks on stage! For being in the third row, there was certainly not a lot to see most of the time. The sound of the show was great, the visual mostly sucked. Joe didn't visit our side of the stage even once! I am a huge Tom Hamilton fan. The highlight of the set for me came during "Love In An Elevator" when I was dancing and lost in the music. I suddenly came-to and noticed Tom was watching me with a sly little crooked smile on his face. Whenever something happens like this I am overwhelmed with a feeling of cool mixed with a panicky - "what do I do now?!" feeling. LOL And this was no different. I usually end up poking Brian, who is not usually actively noticing what's going on. By the time I poke him and look back, the moment is over. Every time. Without fail. LOL This was one of those times. What else? "Dream On" was amazing. Steven hit the notes and stunned everyone. "What It Takes" and "Crying" were very cool. The blues jam that everyone's been complaniing about wasn't bad at all. Joe Perry even sang the second song.
Kiss' set had ended in an encore (though still lasting 75 minutes only), so everyone thought Aerosmith's set would end that way, too. Apparantly I wasn't the only one not looking at my watch, because instead the set ended very abruptly. Brian and I usually leave concerts during the encore to beat the traffic, and I am sure other people do, too. Not this time. Everyone seemed shocked when the lights came on. This caused everyone in the venue to leave at the exact same time, which was the most obnoxious cluster-you-know-what I have ever seen. It literally took us an hour and a half to get out of the parking area and onto the road! Thanks for the warning Aerosmith!
Aerosmith's Set List: Mama Kin ; Toys In The Attic ; Love In An Elevator ; Pink ; Jaded ; What it Takes ; I Never Loved ; Stop Messin ; Baby Please ; Dream On ; Nobody's Fault ; Same Old Song and Dance ; Crying ; Walk This Way ; Sweet Emotion ; Train Kept A Rollin
Don't get me wrong, I love Aerosmith and always will (and it took me just as long to get over the Tom look as the Kiss ones), I just think a few things could have been done differently. To me this show was not a battle of the bands, so I will not play this review out that way. Both bands are legends and it was a rare treat to see them both in one day. I made a new friend at the show. And a wholehearted thank you goes to KISS and Tom Hamilton for making this chick feel young and special one week before she turned 30!
KISS PICS (taken by Brian, click to see full-size):
AEROSMITH PICS (taken by me, click to see full-size):
