KISS- Tribeca Film Festival

"Don't need to wait for an invitation."

"You got to live like you're on vacation." 

"It ain't a crime to be good to yourself." 

Written by Backstage Bruce 

    KISS's performance in Battery Park Friday night was not only the highlight of the film festival this year, it was the envy of the entire world! Around the planet billions of people are starting to emerge from this pandemic that has kept us all indoors for the last 15 months. While politicians and organizers are planning concerts and events for months from now, KISS showed up and turned it out! Full make-up, full pyro- technics, they lit up the sky in the Battery. Only in New York, no other city has KISS playing in one of their parks. 

                                                KISS- Blue Carpet Arrival 

    Their appearance was part of the Tribeca Film Festival. A film festival started 20-years ago in Tribeca, a section of NYC in lower Manhattan. The festival has grown so enormous that it now encompasses the entire five boroughs of New York City. There are hundreds of movies to choose from, in every genre imaginable. There really is something for everyone. They kick it off with a family day. Throughout the festival there are special events, performances, talks and interactive areas. They fest it up. I have been fortunate enough to attend a few times over the years. One time one of the musical acts was Steve Winwood, his set included solo and early Traffic material, phenomenal. Another year, The Godfather of Soul, James Brown (R.I.P.) was the musical guest, he was so great.   

                                          KISS- full concert, June 11th 2021

    And now it was Kiss's turn. They were scheduled to perform a small, five-song concert, directly following the worldwide premiere of their new documentary, 'BIOGRAPHY: KISStory' (Part 1). It is a three-hour documentary airing on A&E as a two-night event, Part 1, June 27th and Part 2, June 28th. I wanted to see this but by the time I requested tickets they were sold out. I then submitted for a press pass but I missed the deadline, so denied. I was fine with it, I figured I would just catch it on t.v. later. 

    Morning of, I just happened to check over the festival's daily schedule and I saw right there on line that KISS was going to be making an appearance directly following the screening. I hadn't noticed this before. I was able to deduce that they would be performing. If they were just participating in the talks, it would be Gene and Paul only. But since all four of them were showing up I knew they were going to be playing. Now I had to go. I text friends, rearranged plans, told them all that I was heading downtown. 

    Fortress is the only way I can describe it. In years past, if you didn't have a ticket, you could still sit in the park outside the chain-link fenced in area and see the movie and concert. You could see right through the fence. Dozens of people, if not hundreds used to show up with their blankets and have picnics. Now not so much. Security had to take precautions with social distancing and everything. A mesh netting was put in place on the fence so now you couldn't see through it. It discouraged people from setting up in the park, understandable. Had to keep the crowd to a minimum. The planners and security did a great job. 

My KISS backstage pass from 1988

    I made a day of it. I got there and just mingled around the park all day. I had lunch on the harbor overlooking The Statue Of Liberty. I did a little bird watching. I shared the bread from my sandwich with seven different types of birds. After a few minutes the pigeons took over. At one point I sat down on a bench that was on this wide dirt path right next to the Gianni da Verrazzano statue. This path was used by the NYC parks department for their work trucks. I was sitting there writing in my journal when all the sudden KISS arrived. I could not have planned this. There was a lead car, then them in a huge van. I stood up and waved as they went by. I couldn't see in. I text my friends "KISS just drove by".

    The van pulled up and they got out. They were in full make up and costume, they had their platform boots on. With their hair done up they looked like they were seven-feet tall. They needed that big van with a high ceiling to shuttle them around. It was now time to see if I could find a place to watch from. At 6:00 p.m. three-foot high barriers were put up in some places. The walkways surrounding the stage were now closed off to the general public. There was a ten foot gap in the fence that allowed for people to walk from the pathway into the park. 

Me and Paul at the MTV Beach House, in L.A., in '97

    A few three foot high barriers were placed in the gap to separate the rest of the park from the performance area. When the barriers went up, myself and two other people just naturally gravitated over to them. There were police on the other side and we asked if we were allowed to stand where we were. They told us as long as we stayed on that side, we were fine. What a score, we could see the entire stage perfectly. We were pretty close. I have definitely sat further away at arena shows. 

    Above the stage was the screen that the movie was going to be displayed on. It was electric, everyone was happy to be there. While we are all just hanging out talking, a KISS crew member walks up to the police and hands them a pick each. He had a handful of them. I immediately zoomed in on them and called out "Dude, can I have a pick please? Hook me up." 

    He did, he gave us all a pick. I immediately read it, it was Gene's pick. Right away I said thank you and asked "Do you have one of Paul's?" He just looked at me sideways and smiled and said "Yes, in my other pocket." The look on his face was like 'how did you know that?'  And I didn't, just swung for that fence too. So now the crew member gives us all a pick from Paul. I took a picture of the picks and sent it out to friends, a total of twenty-two minutes had elapsed from the moment I texted them "KISS just drove by" to "I just got Gene and Paul's picks." The day was just getting better by the minute.

Paul's pick front,  Gene's pick front

    After a bit a family of three from Argentina, locals, joined our small group. The festivities got underway and the six of us had our spots right up against the barrier. Anyone who arrived now had to fill in behind us and they did, not many, but a handful. A few speakers came out and welcomed everyone, one of them was the filmmaker. You could hear the joy in his voice, he was exuberant. 

    The world premiere starts, completely obstructed view by the branches of one of the mighty maple trees. No problem, it will be on t.v. The branches were a reminder that all this magic was taking place inside of a park. I was able to see some of it, through the leaves, and hear quite a lot of it. From what I did see and hear, I loved it. I can't wait to see it on t.v. under proper conditions. The movie starts off with them young, which was quite interesting, then moves on to them growing up, meeting then forming a band. They talk about the NYC music scene in the early '70's and how New York Dolls were a major inspiration. 

    Whether you are a huge fan or a casual listener of them, you will love this documentary. They touched on everything, no stone unturned, and what a ride it has been. During their interview you will find yourself thinking "Oh, I remember that. I was in this grade." They talk about other things, again you'll be like "Oh, yeah, that happened." Time and time again you will find yourself remembering the timeline of your own life growing up with them. It was really good. Tune in. Bring on the band. 

The picks, back with autographs. Gene's pick has the date, NYC June 11, 2021

    Brief intermission, they take the stage. Everyone is up, out of their seats and on their feet. Gene and Paul walk up to the same microphone and Paul says "This is my microphone, that's your microphone over there." There was a little chuckle throughout the place. It was so relateable, after all this time off, we are all going to need to take a quick moment to get our bearings when we get back to work. Gene steps up to his mic and the music kicks off. It was great, it was loud, it was 'Detroit Rock City'.

    KISS is made up of Gene Simmons on bass, dressed as The Demon, Paul Stanley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, dressed as The Starchild, Tommy Thayer on lead guitar and backing vocals, dressed as The Spaceman and Eric Singer on backing vocals and drums, dressed as The Catman. They completely rocked. Next they played 'Shout It Out Loud' and the people did. Everyone joined in, sang along and pumped fists during the chorus "Shout it, Shout it, Shout it out loud" repeat chorus 3X. 

    The pyrotechnics that accompanied the music were first rate, top notch. There was everything: fireworks, sparklers, roman candles, flamethrowers, etc... It had so much, really fantastic. Nothing of that magnitude had ever taken place at the festival before. They rolled onto their next jam 'War Machine', which sounded just as terrific as everything else so far. Paul then took the time to remind the audience that they are going back on tour in August. 

    KISS will be in our area for two shows, the first on Saturday, August 21st, at The Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena in Atlantic City. Atlantic City in the summertime? That could be really fun, make a day of it. Spend some time on the beach or boardwalk, then KISS at night. The next day Sunday, August 22nd, KISS will be at The XFINITY Center, in Hartford, Connecticut.  

    The fourth song was 'Heaven's On Fire'. Feel the heat, and they did. During this number the blasts of fire were non-stop, there were dozens and dozens of them, maybe hundreds even. They were loud as cannons. I could feel the heat from where I was standing. The people up front must have really felt it. That was a fun experience. 

    The final number of the evening was 'Rock and Roll All Night.' They were so good, it sounded great and looked even better. This was the crescendo. The band was rocking, every pyrotechnic was engaged. It was spectacular. Three unseen platforms on the stage start to rise. Tommy was on one, stage left. Gene was on one, stage right and Eric and the drum set were on one in the back. It gave the illusion that the three of them were actually levitating.

    Paul was the only one left on the main stage. He started swinging his guitar in the air, he was getting the crowd riled up. They were egging him on and he kept swinging it around his head. They're getting louder and finally he does it. He lifts the guitar over his head and then slams it down on the floor, smashing the guitar. The crowd goes crazy. He does this a few times and splinters what's left. The platforms lower, they finish up the last few notes of the song and all four of them walk off stage. That was a rock star exit. 

    Check out their website here, this is The End Of The Road Tour, you don't want to miss it. KISS's Website