by Matman
Last Saturday night I took the 90 minute ride to the Commonwealth in Quincy, MA to finally see KISS Forever! I first met Ara Asadoorian (Star Child) and John Sanar (the Demon) at Boston Comic Con a few years ago. After some interviews and KISS chat I couldn't wait to see them live. Finally, with my schedule clear I met up with my pal Alan Hebert from HB Comics and got ready for an evening of great live music!
KISS Forever hit the stage with the opener 'Detroit Rock City' and for the next 2 1/2 hours, they presented an arena sized show in a small club! The set featured so many KISS classics and gave each menber their time in the spotlight! Lead guitarist Rob Smith (Space Ace) not only played with some serious skills including smoking and light up guitar, he also took the mike for a couple of Ace classics, "Shock Me' and '2000 Man'. Sitting atop a tank turret riser is the new guy, drummer Michael Grillo who wears the face paint of the late great Eric Carr. The Fox not only played tight but he was heavy when he needed to be on the CREATURES OF THE NIGHT offerings 'War Machine' and 'I Love It Loud'. The Fox also had his vocal spotlight on the fan favorite, 'Black Diamond'.
But it isn't just the make up era that gets covered in this 30 plus song set! Hits like 'Lick It Up', 'Tears Are Falling' and my third favorite Kiss song 'Hide Your Heart' was performed, complete with audience singalong chorus.
Another cool thing they did was between songs, Rob would play or tease songs like 'Rocket Ride', 'I' and 'The Oath'. I started to get a little mad at him because I wanted to hear those songs!
With each passing song I started to realize what an amazing and diverse catalog KISS has. From the pop of 'Rock N Roll All Nite', the heavy of 'Parasite' and the almost boogie of 'Strutter', KISS Forever brings those classic songs to life.
KISS Forever is a show you can't miss! Ara is Paul Stanley with his voice, raps and feather boa! John not only plays Gene Simmons perfectly, he is an amazing bass player as well. Rob Smith's Ace Frehley is pretty close to perfect with the trademark leads and spacey stage prescience. And Mike Grillo as Eric Carr pays tribute to his memory by playing loud and holding the whole thing together!
There is nothing like live music and these guys deliver it with all the flash, fake blood and volume you could want. This is an A show that could be an A+ if they would just add 'Shandi' to their set.
For more info, go to www.kissforeveronline.com
Last Saturday night I took the 90 minute ride to the Commonwealth in Quincy, MA to finally see KISS Forever! I first met Ara Asadoorian (Star Child) and John Sanar (the Demon) at Boston Comic Con a few years ago. After some interviews and KISS chat I couldn't wait to see them live. Finally, with my schedule clear I met up with my pal Alan Hebert from HB Comics and got ready for an evening of great live music!
KISS Forever hit the stage with the opener 'Detroit Rock City' and for the next 2 1/2 hours, they presented an arena sized show in a small club! The set featured so many KISS classics and gave each menber their time in the spotlight! Lead guitarist Rob Smith (Space Ace) not only played with some serious skills including smoking and light up guitar, he also took the mike for a couple of Ace classics, "Shock Me' and '2000 Man'. Sitting atop a tank turret riser is the new guy, drummer Michael Grillo who wears the face paint of the late great Eric Carr. The Fox not only played tight but he was heavy when he needed to be on the CREATURES OF THE NIGHT offerings 'War Machine' and 'I Love It Loud'. The Fox also had his vocal spotlight on the fan favorite, 'Black Diamond'.
But it isn't just the make up era that gets covered in this 30 plus song set! Hits like 'Lick It Up', 'Tears Are Falling' and my third favorite Kiss song 'Hide Your Heart' was performed, complete with audience singalong chorus.
Another cool thing they did was between songs, Rob would play or tease songs like 'Rocket Ride', 'I' and 'The Oath'. I started to get a little mad at him because I wanted to hear those songs!
With each passing song I started to realize what an amazing and diverse catalog KISS has. From the pop of 'Rock N Roll All Nite', the heavy of 'Parasite' and the almost boogie of 'Strutter', KISS Forever brings those classic songs to life.
KISS Forever is a show you can't miss! Ara is Paul Stanley with his voice, raps and feather boa! John not only plays Gene Simmons perfectly, he is an amazing bass player as well. Rob Smith's Ace Frehley is pretty close to perfect with the trademark leads and spacey stage prescience. And Mike Grillo as Eric Carr pays tribute to his memory by playing loud and holding the whole thing together!
There is nothing like live music and these guys deliver it with all the flash, fake blood and volume you could want. This is an A show that could be an A+ if they would just add 'Shandi' to their set.
For more info, go to www.kissforeveronline.com
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