Concert Review - KISS!

Over the next couple of posts Ill review concerts I've seen this year so far. First up, Kiss!

What
Kiss (Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Tommy Thayer, Eric Singer).
The Forum, Copenhagen, June 3rd 2008.

Good
This was Kiss' first visit in Denmark in 9 years, on the tour billed 'Alive 35'.
The Forum is a good venue, roomy and with adequate sound, and as soon as Kiss went on the sound was crystal clear. They started out playing the entire 'Alive' live album from 1975, except 'Let me go, rock and roll' which was a bonus track in some editions of the release. This meant that right from the start we were treated to hits like 'Deuce', 'Strutter', 'Black Diamond' and 'Rock and roll all nite'. The band, with 'new' members Tommy Thayer on guitar and Eric Singer on drums, played very tight and it seems they've got the set list down solid (turns out this is because they play the same setlist every night on this tour). It's always great to see bands that are pros, and know their material by heart.
After a short break they came back out and played what was essentiall a 'greatest hits of songs not on the Alive album' set. Personal highlights for me were 'I was made for lovin' you' and 'Love gun', where Paul Stanley was transported to the middle of the crowd for the duration of the song. Kiss are as theatrical in their performance as ever, and it's enough to make one suspend disbelief briefly and just enjoy some great 70's rock.
Tommy Thayer and Eric Singer did a good job of filling in for Ace Frehley and Peter Criss, just as they have on the records. Singer in particular was a great surprise, taking vocals on a few tracks and managing the rare art of a drum solo that never once got boring. Smashing!

Bad
One thing that's always kind of annoyed me about Kiss is the banter at their concerts. Paul Stanley is still saying the same things he was saying in the 70's ('This is the greatest crowd ever!', etc.) and that he says in every city. Wouldn't hurt to spice it up a little and say something different once in a while.

Also, I have to say the opening band was horrible. I didn't catch the name but after hearing the music I wouldn't want to ever come across this band again. Bad sound, bad singing and above all else, generic boring songs that were hard to seperate. It just came and went like half an hour of recycled riffs and emo-screaming. Kiss are richer than most bands, why can't they bring a decent opening band ?

All in all
I would say that I feel I definetly got my money's worth from this concert. Kiss were fantastic and right from the first song, it was a party all night long. The concert has gotten some slack in the press for being 'unoriginal', but I feel that's not a fair assesment. Kiss made this kind of show, and were among the first to make this particular brand of glammy, trashy rock and roll. So the last thing one could accuse them of is being unoriginal I feel. If anything, they're still riding the same wave of success they started out on back then, but if the ride continues to be this much fun, who's to blame them?
A solid 8 out of 10 for the whole evening! A better opening band would have pushed this up to 9!