BILLY CORGAN- Throughout The Years

Written by Backstage Bruce

 

   Billy Corgan was technically the last full concert I attended before the pandemic shut everything down. 

Billy solo tour, November 2019

    The first time we crossed paths was at a hotel in NYC. I was working as a bellman (luggage guy) at a swanky place where The Smashing Pumpkins were staying. This was the first time I was hearing of them. Billy Corgan, James Iha, Jimmy Chamberlin and D'arcy Wretzky were talking to the clerk at the front desk, Mike. They were the only ones in the lobby. Mike loves them, he's young and in his twenties. 

    

    He is 100% professional, not fan-boying out at all. At one point he catches my eye, across the lobby, and he does the real inconspicuous head nod, trying to say "look who's at the desk". They finish up and leave. I walk over and talk to Mike. When I got to the front desk I looked down and found a pick. One of them must have dropped it. I gave it to Mike. He was really happy with it. 

    I did see them at The Garden at one point during their peak in the '90's. It was a really great show, completely sold-out. This audience wanted to hear the songs that they have heard and seen on MTV repeatedly. There was a lot of that, but there also was a lot of Billy being Billy. They (meaning he, it is his band.) performed a lot of their lesser known, obscure songs.

    It was getting to be one song after another that people were not too familiar with and it was starting to get late. By 11:00 p.m. people were leaving. They had to work the next day to earn money to pay for these pricey tickets, which they didn't seem to be enjoying. 

    Every time a new song would start up, that most people didn't immediately recognize, the audience would pour out by the thousands. Time and time again it was happening, to the point they were just streaming out by 11:30 p.m. Billy's yelling at them "Leave, leave, we know who are true fans are." That was a first. 

Look at those 7-yellow guitar picks just waiting

    In 2018, The Smashing Pumpkins reunited. (Three out of four founding members at least: Billy, James & Jimmy. D'arcy & Billy are still fighting over money and writing credits at publication time.) They released their first album in 18 years, 'Shiny and Oh So Bright, Vol 1/ LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun.' 

    They went on tour the following year, as a band, to promote the album. It was great, people wanted to see them, they sold-out arenas and coliseums. When their tour came to an end, Billy decided he was going to do a quick, little, small, eight city, 12-night, solo, fall tour. A mere blip on the screen in the career of the mighty-talented musician.

    

    On paper, it appeared perfect. But in reality, the best laid plans. We get to The Gramercy, a 600-seat theater. It was going to be an intimate engagement for the few lucky ones that were able to score tickets. There were chairs on the dance floor! Yes the standing area in front of the stage had seats, rows of them too with aisles, really classing up the joint.  

    I'm standing there looking at this just taking it all in. Thinking to myself "Oh", "Oh", "This is what we are doing tonight." "It is going to be more of a Lincoln Center performance and not a head banging rock concert." "It doesn't look like we are going to get rockstar Billy tonight, but more of a laid-back cabaret Billy." "This should be fun."

    We get to our seats and nestle in. We watched the expressions as others arrived. Hundreds of eyebrows were raised as people entered and saw the chairs but it is New York we know how to roll with things. We like to think of ourselves as being civilized, more advanced, in a cultured society, so we try. And if we happen to get out of line a bit, our New York friends have no problem checking us. 

    Billy came out with an acoustic guitar, other guest musicians would join later. He talked to the crowd, he told stories and did songs, just like a cabaret show. He had banter between the audience, very engaging. He told a story about being a new father and one guy in the audience just became a new father too. (You don't say, what are the odds?) So those two chatted a couple of sentences. That guy's night was made, story for life. It was a fun time, nothing heckley. There was not one incident at all. There had not been one incident at any of his three sold-out shows in New York.

    From early on, during the tour, there were problems in different cities. Thousands upon thousands of people knew how to conduct themselves properly. Unfortunately, in a few different cities, a small group of obnoxious people disrupted the show for everyone. They wanted rockstar Billy, they did not want cabaret Billy. They didn't want any stories in between. They wanted a Smashing Pumpkins concert and they wanted it now. 

    One of the early shows on the tour, a guy up front, with his date/girlfriend/wife was disrespectful. Multiple audience reports, via Reddit, claim he was drunk. He kept yelling out "Play Ugly". Billy ignored him, drunk continued. Billy said (paraphrased) "I've written hundreds of songs, I don't have all of them memorized" trying to appease this guy to no avail. The drunk kept on. Billy said "I know you are peaking on your THC Gummies but I'm not playing 'Ugly' tonight." "I'm not a human jukebox." Security finally threw him out. 

    Every concert/ showroom had a bar and that got very loud, each and every city. That's what happens. The bar staff was loud too. He would start to play and everyone at the bar would hush for the first song but by the second they were all talking at full volume. A different time, outside of Buffalo, N.Y., after he played the tune 'For Martha', he said to the chattering crowd at the bar, "I figure if a song about my dead mother doesn't shut you up, my ukulele will."  

    The Covington, Kentucky show is where it went really bad. Security was totally negligent that night. It wasn't horribly bad, there is that line, it could have been much worse. Not one chair was flung, thank goodness. They could have been used as projectiles and really did some damage. It seemed that there were about a dozen people, or so, who were determined to troll him all night. They were shouting out references from the time the band was on The Simpsons, as one of the musical guests in 'Homerpalooza', to the shapeshifter interview on Howard Stern. 

    They were relentless.  A guy from the very back row yelled out "Homer Simpson" and Billy yelled back "Idiot!" The bar is loud and he is in an emo  mood. He plays a few songs in a row, including 'Ugly'. He figured "if that's what they want to hear, i'll brush up on it." People at the bar talked through that one too. He told the seated audience "This show is for you, they're not going to listen to me." 

    Every action has a reaction, the audience in turn, starts shouting at the people at the bar. Dozens of people screaming "Shut the F@&# up!" "Shut the F@&# up!", "Shut the F@&# up!" The audience was done with the rude B.S. The people in the bar area now have all had their tail feathers ruffled because they have just been yelled at to shut the F up. It did work, they did quiet down. They continued drinking, now thinking "Just who the F is this guy, over here, who just told me to shut the F up?" The drinking continued as did the brooding. The place was tense but it was about to get even freakier.

     One guy in particular, where was security? Maybe he was a conspiracy theorist or something. He yells out "Are shapeshifters real?" Billy replies "How about you come up here and I punch you in the effen face!" And the guy walked right up to the stage and kept trying to have a conversation with Billy. 

    The audience was not having any of it. They just got finished shouting down the entire bar area, they were not about to let one person disrupt the show any further. They all started shouting him down. Security came out and just stood there. How they didn't toss him was puzzling. That show finally came to an end and Billy and his bandmates made it out of there. 

    NYC, the last stop on the tour. The bar area was loud here too. People talk louder when they drink. The show started and it was really fun. It was nice to see this scaled down version, most people will never get this experience. It really was magical. Maybe because it was the last night of the tour, he kept throwing his guitar picks to the audience, one every five minutes. It was like he was saying "Here I won't need these any more after tonight. I'll get new ones for the next tour."

    It appeared like anyone who wanted a pick could just walk right up and he would toss you one. At least that was what my beer goggles were confirming. I had remained seated pretty much the entire performance except for beer runs here and there, being super mindful to be quiet at the bar. The show came to an end. They all leave the stage. I wanted a pick. 

WPC- William Patrick Corgan 

    My plan was just to walk right up to the stage and time it for when he was coming back on stage. He would hand me a pick and then I would go back to my seat, nice and simple, that was the plan.  

    He comes back on stage and sees me there. I'm the only one standing. I immediately smiled at him, right? Disarm you with a smile, if not then, then when? I waved and pointed at his microphone stand where there were numerous picks affixed to it. He got the message, Billy was so cool, he walked up to the mic stand, took one off and tossed it over to me. It landed right on the stage where I picked it up. 

    I said "Thanks" and turned around to leave but now there was a little bit of a crowd. A couple of dozen people had made their way down front for the encore, after two hours sitting they needed to stretch their legs. They were just waiting for one person to lead the charge and that was me unknowingly, I just wanted a pick. 

The back

    I stayed right where I was. He played 'Knights in White Satin' by The Moody Blues. It was so fantastic! Being there up front you can actually feel the music as it flows right through you, the pounding of the drum, the thumping of the bass, it really was pulsating. Plus the warmth of the heat coming off the stage lights really added to the overall experience. 

    

    His final song of the night/ tour 'Disarm'. This is what the people wanted, real crowd pleaser. During this song he threw out a few more picks. I swatted one down, it hit the stage and I picked that one up too. I turned around and handed it to my friend Rich, who had joined me up front. He got me the ticket so I had to get him a pick. Two picks from one concert, that was a first, no mellon collie here. 

    

CASH UNCHAINED- Gramercy Theater

Poster from that night

The Ultimate Johnny Cash Tribute

By Rich Rickaby
Gramercy Theater July 12, 2019

    Disclaimer: I love Johnny Cash. When asked what kind of music I like, I say, “Well, Johnny Cash sits next to The Clash in my collection. So there’s a range." I’ve been listening to the Man in Black long before Rick Rubin came along and reminded everyone what one great voice and a guitar can sound like, though I’m very grateful he did.

1994's 'American Recordings'

    Not seeing Johnny Cash at Carnegie Hall is one of my only concert disappointments. I was at the ticket booth, they had two seats for $40 a piece with an obstructed view. I wasn’t very flush at the time and I didn’t know that an obstructed view was a thin column at Carnegie so I went home and Johnny went on stage. I never saw him live.

Henderson Memorial Gardens, Henderson TN.

    I go to a lot of shows, I suggest you do the same. Because of this Live Nation offered me comp tickets if I RSVP’d for Cash Unchained (CU). I was excited by the prospect but also suspect. Would this be tacky? We’re basically talking hallowed ground here so one must tread lightly. I didn’t know if this was to be a night of Johnny Cash songs by different people stepping up to the mic or an impersonator a la Elvis or…regardless, I didn’t have plans for the evening and the Gramercy is only a walk away, so I grabbed the tickets.

    I wondered what kind of crowd CU would draw. Would everyone be wearing black trying to out-Cash fan everyone else? Did everyone else get in with comp tickets, not even knowing a song beyond Ring of Fire and Folsom Prison Blues? There was a line for the 7 p.m. door and by the time CU took the stage, the Gramercy had a healthy audience. If the show doesn’t sell, offer comp tickets and get the cash from bar sales. $8/16oz. PBR ain’t a bad price in this town.

Tribute acts can draw the people

    As is a New York custom, performances start at a quarter past the hour, so at 8:15, a partial recording of 'Ain’t No Grave' prepared the audience and then Cash Unchained took the stage. The band came out and started up that plunkety plunk sound of the E string that one associates with Johnny. Then, James Tamelcoff III, dressed in black of course, came out and they launched into 'Folsom Prison Blues' followed by 'I Walk the Line'. I think I got that right, two big Johnny hits right out of the gate. I wondered if that was to clear the house of the posers and get on with the deeper cuts for the deeper fans, which didn’t make sense to me but I wondered. Everyone stayed.

James Tamelcoff III

    James Tamelcoff III, after their first or second song basically said that, “We’re here to keep the music alive. We’re not trying to imitate Johnny Cash, the Man in Black,” and that was fine by us. James has the deep baritone chops necessary to pay tribute to Johnny and his guitar playing is Country Folk Rock stellar. With ease, he’d run all over the guitar as is required for some Cash licks, but he expanded as well, bringing in some revved up solos that never veered too far off the ranch from what one would expect, given the context.

 
    The surprise bit was during an extended solo, forgetting which song, but suddenly, I’m like, “That’s the solo from Another Brick in the Wall II.” I know because I can play that one. Then it slid into a bit from Speak to Me/Breathe before returning to the song at hand. Some knew, some didn’t but everyone cheered. I found that in 2016 James was 19, so I guess he was telling the truth when he said he was 21, I thought he was joking. He’s accomplished beyond his years.

    “All right, thank you.” James said, always cheerful, “It’s great to be here in New York City. Has anyone here ever seen us before?” Nope, but all were happy to be there now.

    The rhythm guitarist (I’m not finding any names online) seemed to grin with surprise throughout the night. For a crowd that had never heard them before, the enthusiasm was great, so that’s understood. But there was also a wild man flailing away in the front with every song in an expressionistic way. More interpretive performance than dancing, people gave him space because nobody knew what to make of the guy. 

    He was joyous, elated and emotive but who knows what’s going on with anyone sometimes. Regardless, once the show was winding down, another guy joined him in a similar manner. At first it seemed like he was making fun of the guy, but he befriended him and they sort of played off of each other. It got weird but all in fun.

    The upright bass supplied all the bottom necessary for the Cash catalog and James wound up on top of it as the guy plucked away at one point.The drummer didn’t show any apparent joy at what was going on but his talent was evident. I wondered if he was a hired hand for the New York show or part of the troupe. 

    A female vocalist joined them for a few songs, Jackson, “We got married in a fever…” and she had the June Carter growl but her mic needed turning up for the other parts. At least where we were standing we couldn’t hear her other than the “Grrr’s” leading into a vocal line.

    Then it was time for the Highwaymen-Alike (my phrase, not theirs) to take the stage. It started with the rhythm guitarist taking on the role of Kris Kristofferson when they sang 'Sunday Morning Coming Down' and expanded to Waylon and Willie all on stage by the end of the segment. Waylon was a guy from the Crickets, if I understood correctly, and Willie had the hat and braids. Each got a chance at leading the vocals for their songs. And Willie closed the show, before the two song encore, with 'On the Road Again'.

    Cash Unchained were a great way to remember Johnny Cash and hear those wonderful songs in a live environment. Maybe the Man in Black has moved on but as far as his music goes, ain’t no grave gonna hold ‘em down. 

I’m not finding a set list but songs included: 'Hey Porter', 'I Still Miss Someone', 'Mean Eyed Cat', 'Cocaine Blues', 'Ring of Fire', 'Jackson', 'I’ve Been Everywhere', 'Big River', 'Devil’s Right Hand', 'I Won’t Back Down', '(Ghost) Riders In The Sky', 'Rusty Cage', 'Hurt', 'A Boy Named Sue' and more. They closed with 'Orange Blossom Special'.

Facebook: CASH UNCHAINED

RIFFER- The Parkside Lounge

Friday, May 10th, 2019

9pm

By Rich Rickaby
Photos by Mei Casscles

John, Brian, Rich & Diane- RIFFER

    Riffer doesn't gig much and I should know 'cos I'm in the band. We play my West 15th Street apartment just about every Saturday. Most of the time, 3 of 4 us make it. When we decide to gig, extra effort is made for all to show.

    We were originally scheduled for a Wednesday night, but things shifted and we were blessed with a Friday night gig in NYC. We were thrilled by this prospect.

    We have a collection of original songs we've developed over our 10+ years, so we put our notes together and came up with a set list. We then focused on those songs for the next 5-6 weeks.

    Are you in a band? Have you ever been in a band? Do you play an instrument? It's a wild thing to see a group of people continually come together to chisel away at a craft. One may play an instrument or sing, but here, you get to take all of those hours you spent in solitary communion, learning and growing with your keys, guitars, drums and voice, and apply them with a group, a band. The synergy is tangible. One additional something can add a thousand nuances.

    We've also considered performance strategies. To play the most songs in our 45 minutes, we'd include band intros in our songs, 3 in NYC_bluz when we call out the solos and 1, the drum solo, after Rockabye. If a string broke, we'd do "One Thin Dime" because one guitar can carry that tune more readily than some of the others. Or, we'd play it as the last song if time allowed.

    So, we're hot with our songs, we've sent out the invites and follow-ups and it's gig day.

One strategy was to tune our instruments before the show

    Another strategy was to rehearse around the corner before the gig, at RMRS. We packed our gear into a cab because lugging this stuff to the train would knock us out before the set even started. For my gear check, I call it out, "I'm going to a gig. I need my guitar, cord to box, cord from box to amp, (they have the Amps) power cord for box, multi-outlet extension cord, picks, strings in case of breakage, guitar stand and case, set lists and outfit. And that’s just me. If any of us forgot something, we’d know before we got to the gig and the rehearsal space sells most of these things because, hey, we’ve all been there before.

The Invite

    When there’s a line up of bands for a night, things can get hurried. The second band will be lugging equipment in while the first band is still playing and then they’ve got to get off while the second band is trying to set up and get some semblance of a sound check in place before playing while the third band starts lugging their equipment in. Luckily for us, there was a screening before we took the stage, so people were milling about, paying us no mind while we set up. There was no band after us either, so we had a comfortable cushion on our in and out points.

    We had a good turn out for our audience. We put our invitations on the tables, as they included the set list. There were friends, family and co-workers (not that they can’t be friends or family-like) eagerly anticipating our show.

Watching for the Lead Cue

    Once set up, “Hello, thank you all for coming out. We’re Riffer and we’re going to play some of our songs for you. Ready? Friday With You.”

    “One, two, three, four…” and we were off and running.

Johnny Riffer plays keys, sings and writes.

Brian Riffer is our drummer and sings backing vocals.

Rizzi Riffer plays lead guitar.

Richie Riffer plays rhythm guitar, sings and writes.

    As songwriters, John and I have different approaches but we also approach different styles, so we can’t necessarily say that, “This is our sound.” We think this works well for the audience because it’s not like you’re going to hear what sounds like variations of the same song throughout the gig. This can especially happen when one is not familiar with any of the songs going into the show.

    “Friday with You” is a catchy pop song, originally conceived as a Cars-like number. It’s evolved since then.

    “NYC_bluz” is a straight up blues song in C where John gets to lament about some of his experiences from hauling himself into the city for rehearsals. This is where we introduce the guitar, keys and guitar players when it’s their time to solo.

Rocking the virtual double-neck

    “Good and Down” grew out of a jamming time John and I had on guitars. There’s a punk aesthetic here but not growling speed angst.

    “Red Curtain,” inspired by David Lynch’s “Twin Peaks” is a lounge number where the guitars break from the Rhythm & Lead paradigm to fill in spaces the keys and drums allow for. It was the first time we played this one live.

    “Get Your Pants On,” another live first, is a shit-kicking rocker with Rizzi’s lead opening and breaking up the song. I maintain the driving rhythm guitar while John brings the synth accents of madness. Brian is a bit of a controlled monster on drums, setting the pace throughout the set.

    “Rockabye,” is, as the name implies, a rock song that rocks. I get to play a lead lick in this one but somehow, Rizzi always fills things out with great accents that just don’t cross my mind. We set it up so that, “Brian Riffer, on drums,” Gets his intro and solo to close out the song. This one was dedicated to Valerie as it was her first time seeing us and her brother inspired the song. He wasn’t there, under 21.

Brian Riffer keeping the beat

    “Niagara in a Barrel,” has gone from pedal-to-the-metal rocker to jazzy explorations. We played it somewhere in between for this gig but it always winds up swirling to some degree of madness by the end.

    “Sexy Zombie Doctor,” our reggae song and also another live first, has a fun Beetljuice air to it. I say that because I think of the purgatory waiting room scene when I hear it, I can’t say that was John’s intent or inspiration. I think it actually grew out of a conversation that somehow led to the phrase, Sexy Zombie Doctor.

    “Galaxy House,” is our ballad and a shared song. We dedicated this to Jodi and Liam, soon-to-be newlyweds. Over a dreamy G, C sequence, John sings about stars in eyes and romantic understandings. When the baton is passed, I sing about a loner guy looking to get up the nerve to approach a girl and by the end, they’re sort of one and the same. Rizzi noodles the high notes throughout this one while Brian accents the goings on.

    “Color in Crayon” is a solid rocker with a bit of subversiveness. On one hand, it’s about directing your feelings, “put your rose tints on,” and “color in your day, color in less gray.” But on the other hand, “Everything will be fine, stay inside the lines.” A cautionary tale about being an individual.

    “One Thin Dime,” is a ditty that smells of popcorn and peanuts and all things circus oriented. Plenty of visuals, “See the lion, see the clown,” tightrope walking elephants, a singing fat lady and carnival barker all introduce and wind down the show.

    You can see our "One Thin Dime" video here.

When the circus comes to town

    Our strategy paid off as we had enough time to include all of our songs without any rushing or strings breaking. Too, being well rehearsed, we made it through the set in respectable smoothness.

    Did the audience know a guitar lick was dropped, synth hand claps didn’t make it that night, a solo could have started sooner or that the drums weren’t the ending intended during the solo? No. That’s for us to know and note. As they say, “One performance is worth ten rehearsals.”

    We do know that people had fun on both sides of the mic that night, even the bartender liked us, and hanging out for beers afterwords is a good sign of success.

Feedback the next day:

Rey: You guys rocked! We had a great time. Komaki loved it!

Calley: It was a blast. I’ve never seen you look so happy.

David: So much fun! Can’t wait until next time.

Susan: Had fun, glad to come out!

Diana: Was super fun! Ryan really liked you guys.

Bruce: You guys sounded the best I have ever seen!

Mei: You guys rocked!! Great energy and cool vibe…and sounded tight!!

And hey, we’ve been invited back to play in August. We’ll see if we see you there.

Rock on.  Check out all the good things at Riffer's Website: RIFFER

KISS- Madison Square Garden

KISS LICKS IT UP at Madison Square Garden
By Rich Rickaby
Photos by Suzie Rocker & Rich Rickaby
Doors @ 6:30 Show @ 7:30, Be Prompt

Their final bow at The Garden ever? 

So, Suzie Rocker & I decided to see Kiss. I got the early announcement via email, “Kiss, End of the Road Tour,” and thought, Wow, I bet they put on a great show. Susan is as much an enabler as she is an avid fan of live music. I’m sort of the same for her and so we see a bunch of concerts together.

“Do you want to go?” I e-ask.
“Yeah. I don’t really know their stuff, but I bet they put on a great show.”
“I don’t have any of their albums but I know some of their hits.”
The tickets were purchased.

Garden Go-ers, check your ticket notices, they’ll tell you the best entry for your seats. Neither of us veteran rockers knew there was an 8th Avenue/31st Street entrance to the Garden. “I thought you always enter on 7th Avenue and walk down that long column,” Suzie said, stretching her arms in front of her to mimic the passageway, “That’s sort of fun, seeing the scene and the merchandise.”

“I know, but I’m sure we’ll see plenty of merchandise.”

We had taken the E and got off at the new station under the post office, crossed the street and slow-motion Bam, we were in the snail-curity line, emptying pockets and walking through detectors.

“5 escalators up,” said the turnstile ticket taker.

five escalators up

Row 22 is the last row of Section 208. It has 3 seats. It’s in the right bend of the arena, across from the stage. Or was it? There was a guy already sitting in the last seat, against the wall when we scaled those Peruvian-like heights. I had the middle seat and Susan had the aisle. We were on the big ol’ jet airliner to Rock & Roll.

The guy, Theo, it turns out, flew in from Paris to see the show.
“Yeah, fan dedication!” Susan rejoiced.
He’d be leaving the day after.
“Have you seen them before?” I asked.
“Yes, twice but I’m sure it’ll be nothing like this, in their home town.”
When I told him about Megabus, he considered taking it to see the show in Phili the next day.

The crowd was a real mix of ages with a decidedly middle age white guy majority, both loners & family men, some with kids in tow.

Opening for Kiss was David Garibaldi, a flashy, splashy painter whose videos you may have seen on YouTube. David Garibaldi On a black canvas to the tunes of Black Sabbath & Ozzy Osbourne he painted Ozzie in 15-20 minutes, taking pauses to rouse the crowd,

“Everybody on the right side, make some noise!”
(yeah)
“Everybody on the left side…”
(yeah)
“The arena’s an oval, there are no sides,” I jest.

Next he painted to the tune of Springsteen, the painting was odd, but I had seen the trick before, he turns the painting upside down at the end to reveal The Boss and splashes some background colors to the beat, to finish it up.

The last one was going to make Kisstory, he said. They brought out a larger canvas than before and the music was symphonic or classical until it was revealed that he was painting Lady Liberty’s face and crown. It’s all very impressive, the speed at which these are created and the controlled paint-bombing-blending that results in these fast portraits. At the end, he pulled a covering off of the canvas, revealing the band portraits in full makeup on either side of Lady Liberty. He wrote New York City on the top and called it a night.

The lights came up, beers were poured, bladders were emptied and the stragglers found their seats before the arena went dark again. On the video screens, one behind the stage and 2 left and right in the shape of the Kiss Army chevron, showed the band walking the walk backstage to get to the stage. The screens went dark but multiple spotlights roamed the audience as if looking for the band.


“Hello New York!” Called Paul as the audience realized that Paul Stanley/Starchild, Gene Simmons/Demon and Tommy Thayer/Space Ace were standing on hexagon platforms being lowered from the ceiling. Our vision was blocked by the bridge but we could see 1.5 screens okay and they had the closed circuit monitor going on right in front of us. Eric Singer/The Catman snuck up to his drum set while all eyes were focused above.

Boom! Boom! Flash! Fire bursts and Roman candles punctuated their entrance as the crowd rose before it was time to, "Get up! Everybody's gonna move their feet. Get down! You gotta lose your mind in Detroit Rock City," their opening song. They followed that up with, "Shout It Out Loud," priming the rock and roll pump. 

Set list is here:  KISS- MSG 

SPECTACULAR!

Theo was up and singing and Suzie Rocker and I were doing our best with what lyrics we knew or could decipher. Regardless, the sound and power was great.

As much as David Garibaldi encouraged the crowd to make noise, Paul and the gang kept calling for applause, noise and activity from the audience throughout the show.

“It’s great to be back home!” Called Paul to plenty of cheers. Yes, Kiss was born in New York City in 1973. “I remember when I was driving a cab and I dropped some people off at the Garden and I thought, Someday, I’m going to play the Garden, and here we are 15 sold out shows later!” (more applause) “And we couldn’t do it without you. We love you guys.”

Things got rumbly after “Heaven’s on Fire” and “War Machine” with blue lights and fog adding another layered element to the spectacle. That’s when Gene raised the flaming sword and blew fire. Before and after that, Gene was always ready for the camera, romping and stomping in his huge boots and lifting his arms to reveal the bat-winged cape beneath his wings. And of course, the tongue. He would play it all up, licking his own cheek and later, practically any other band member that got close enough for innuendo.

“You know, these are crazy times. And I’ve seen some crazy times.” Paul did most, if not all of the talking. “You read the paper, you turn on the news or the internet…” I started thinking of the guy with the MAGA hat we saw at the security line. Oh no, is it going to go there? “And when that happens, you know who you gotta call…” and they went into “Calling Dr. Love.” A similar intro led up to “Psycho Circus” later in the show.

“100,000 Years” got us to our first solo of the evening, it was Eric Singer on drums. His set is huge, he’s playing them all over the place, rocking the crowd and then some fireworks start to punctuate the punctuation points and then his platform rises. We were 5 escalators up, so we were still looking down on him but the effect was awesome rock showmanship.

Gene

The next solo was Space Ace Tommy wailing away those clean licks with “Cold Gin” as the launching pad. Gene got his bass solo in during “God of Thunder,” which included, I believe it was here, the biting of the capsule so blood would flow from his mouth for a gruesome appearance. The closed circuit monitors helped bring these smaller thrills to life for those seated far from the stage.



But once Kiss does something, they’ve got to do something even bigger. So, of course, at one point Gene and Tommy were raised on platforms on both sides of the stage. Paul kept singing and playing center, while Eric pounded away. And you know Paul’s not gonna sit still while everyone else is getting their elevator rides.

“You know, you may think we’re a bunch of out of touch Rock Stars but we love you guys. I love you so much I want to come down and be with you.” (Cheers) “You don’t think I mean it. I mean it but you gotta want it. You gotta call me down. On the count of 3, call my name, 3-2-1!” (Paul!) “Ah man, come on New York City, I know you can do better than that. I mean, we sold this place out 15 times. Now, on the count of 3, 3-2-1!” (PAUL!) “All right, that’s better but, you really gotta mean it, 3-2-1!” (PAUL!!!) And with that, he fastened himself into some kind of T-Bar apparatus and was hoisted above the stage and then across the arena to the platform (yes, that rose too), behind the sound board. We were no longer a Garden’s length across from the stage but up close-ish. 

From this location came “Love Gun,” which I always thought of as a reactionary title to the Sex Pistols, but I haven’t done the math…perhaps it’s the other way around. What was wild was how much sound these 4 guys put out. There were no visible amps or wires on stage so they could move all over the place. Paul looked like he was chirping in bits on his guitar at times, what with all his movements he was referred to as, “The gayest straight guy I know,” by one Rockin’ Woman after the show. I figured Tommy was strumming double-time to fill out the sound. But Paul made it quite clear that he can play his axe with a bit of a back and forth jam with Tommy and for the show, all 3 guitarists did line up at times to rock back and forth in ZZ Top-like unison. 

Speaking of axes, Gene’s bass looked like a big battle axe, with its sweeping blade facing towards the floor, the bottom of his guitar. Good thing he had that cod piece on!

Still on the local stage, Paul declared, “This next one is our biggest international hit.” Beth I wondered? Nope, “I Was Made for Loving You” burst out and whoever wasn’t still on their feet rose to the occasion for the sing-along.

Most of the time, the footage on the screens was a live feed of what was going on in the arena, with some shots of audience members dressed in Kiss faces at different levels of execution. There were also times it looked like vintage footage was being played for old times sake. This was to be their last tour (I’ve read they’ve had 5 Farewell Tours and 4 Reunion Tours) ergo their final time playing the Garden.

Paul on the T-Bar overhead

Paul caught the last T-Bar back to the main stage where they went into the last track off their first album, “Black Diamond,” a song I first heard from The Replacements on their Let It Be record. It was also their last song for the night. They thanked everybody and left the stage with fireworks, pinwheel sparklers and flames blasting like they were in Mad Max Fury Road.

Whoa! It wasn’t the last song of the night, they had an encore in their back pocket. Only one light came on though and that was for the piano that rose at the front of the stage. Here, it was Eric The Catman tickling the ivories and singing “Beth.” Plenty of cellphones-as-lighters rose overhead as we heard Beth calling.

This was the only song that was different for the night. A case could be made for “I Was Made For Loving You,” being outside the traditional Kiss oeuvre but overall, every song was charged, pumped and hitting on all cylinders. It reminded me of the Def Leppard show I saw and it became apparent that those English gents certainly learned a thing or two from Kiss, as did others.

There was some commentary about getting into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which only happened because of the fans. It sounds like there’s some bad blood between the two, but if you’re one of the best-selling bands of all time (over 100 million records sold, including 25 RIAA-certified albums) it does seem odd that you’d have to have your fans fight for you to be in the Hall. But hey, Rush got in before Yes somehow.

After “Do You Love Me,” their second song during the encore, they launched into the ultimate finale with “Rock and Roll All Nite.” During this, two cranes turned and lowered so Gene and Tommy could stand on their platforms respectfully and be swung over and around the audience.

On the cranes over the audience

An extra touch, because Kiss always goes one more—large balloons with the Kiss logo on them were being released from on high. So they were. bouncing around, Paul batting them away, fireworks were launching, sparklers were pinwheeling and flames were bursting. They took their final bows with smashing drum and firework punctuations before Paul officially closed it out with a classic move, like a judge wielding a gavel, he smashed his guitar down on the final beat, this court of Rock & Roll was officially adjourned. I felt bad for the guitar, it saw him through the show (who knows if he switched out along the way and if he has multiples of the same model) and now it was broken in two. But if you're gonna Rock & Roll, these things happen.

Paul 

Theo had left before the encore in a hurry for some reason. It seemed odd for someone who came all the way from Paris for the show but maybe he’ll catch the rest of it in Phili. Suzie Rocker and I found a side door to stairs, along with a thousand others, but 5 escalators up is 10 flights down? 20 flights down? It was then that we heard, “Paul is the gayest straight man I know.” This didn't sound derogatory, more like in the style of Steven Tyler or Mick Jagger, a flamboyance in showmanship, mixed in with a New Yorker who knows not to give a rat’s ass about who they want to be or who they are.

One last look at the merchandise confirmed our thoughts, the shirt designs weren’t cool enough for the price they were asking, hence, I got a $20 bootleg outside, ensuring it had concert dates on the back, a demand of mine. My medium seems awfully large.

I headed downtown and Suzie Rocker walked her way to the station, agreeing we’d text when we got home. It’s still New York after all.

The best thing about the Kiss show, beyond the rocking numbers, was how they all worked together as a band. Singing together at mics, joshing each other on stage, all with more pyrotechnics than you can shake a stick of dynamite at, and still not missing a beat. It’s one thing to play a bar or venue as a band and put on a great musical performance but another thing to launch a spectacle on top of rocking chops and hey, if it’s your last time playing the Garden you may as well blow the roof off while you tear down the house.

KISS ARMY Banner on Madison Square Garden, July 25th, 1996

KISS Backstage Pass, 1988