KISS/Motley Crue
The Tour
September 16, 2012
Comcast Center, Mansfield, MA
Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian
Set List Motley Crue
1- Saints Of Los Angeles Vince Neil- Vocals 2- Wild Side Mick Mars- Guitar 3- Shout At The Devil Nikki Sixx- Bass 4- Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S) Tommy Lee- Drums 5- Sex 6- Don’t Go Away Mad (Just Go Away) 7- Home Sweet Home 8- Live Wire 9- Primal Scream 10- Dr. Feelgood 11- Girls, Girls, Girls 12- Kickstart My Heart
Treatment opened the show. I was curious how KISS and Motley Crue were going to pull off their massive stage shows and have a great musical set. As much as co-headlining tours are great, the one problem is the bands/artists don’t do full sets and in most cases it will be just the hits. But you get to see and hear great music for one fairly decent ticket price as opposed to two separate shows. Both bands played about 90 minutes.
It’s been a while since I have seen Motley Crue. I hadn’t witnessed Tommy Lee’s roller coaster drum set until this show. Motley had a large stage set up and had everything from dancing girls, lasers and pyro, etc. I thought Vince Neil was good and he played with a broken foot.
Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian
I will say they had a lot going on, a very busy stage. Girls dancing, Lasers, smoke etc. Overall the stage was very industrial looking. One thing about their show was the heavy use of water. I know punk rock created the whole spitting thing as solidarity with their fans, but Nikki took it to new heights and frankly I just don’t get it. I guess it’s just punk. That being said, if you’re up front be prepared to get wet, especially during the song Sex. During Primal Scream you could see Nikki’s bass shoot flames, I also thought it interesting that Nikki had a mike that hung from the rafters. I felt that Vince gave a strong performance during the night. I was pretty surprised how often Nikki and Tommy chatted with the audience during the show. Keep in mind, I haven’t seen them in years but didn’t expect Vince to give up the spotlight like he did.
One highlight that I thought was cool was during the song Home Sweet Home. Tommy a gave a story about his parents and sat down to the piano and started playing and then Mick came over playing guitar, then Nikki adding bass and finally Vince. They all put their hands in the all-for-one pose and Tommy yelled Just like that. It would be a great photo and was a great moment as they broke in to the song.
Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian
Obviously all had their solo moments but when Tommy does his, he gets a female fan, of course, to take a ride with him on his drum coaster, which is pretty cool. I understand that sometimes the contest winners are men but I think the girl just adds to the show. The only part of his solo I didn’t care for was when he did his DJ thing, otherwise it was entertaining.
This is one of the Highlights I mention, I just thought this was awesome! The fans and the band, couldn’t ask for much better than this.
I thought that Motley Crue did an energy packed show and didn’t seem to disappoint the fans from what I could tell. But like most fans I would have preferred the older material. But this being a shortened setlist, it only makes sense to do the majority of your bigger songs.
Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian
Set List KISS
1- Detroit Rock City Paul Stanley- Vocals, Guitar
2- Shout It Out Loud Gene Simmons- Vocals, Bass
3- I Love It Loud Eric Singer- Drums
4- Firehouse Tommy Thayer- Guitar
5- Hell Or Hallelujah
6- War Machine
7- Shock Me
8- God Of Thunder
9- Love Gun
10-Lick It Up
11-Black Diamond
Encore
12-Got To Choose
13-Rock And Roll All Nite
Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian
After a half hour intermission, which is too long after being pumped up. KISS came on. KISS came down from the rafters, playing Detroit Rock City. Detroit Rock City is always a thrill for me, I think it’s one of the greatest rock songs ever written. The song is a masterpiece and is displayed as one live. KISS kept the tempo with Shout It Out Loud. Everyone knows the main reason I attended this show wasn’t to see Motley but KISS. Loyal and dedicated I am. That being said, if you have seen them as many times as I have (every tour since Dynasty, several times on most tours), you kind of know what to expect and see. I think most KISS fans will probably be jaded at these shows, if not for seeing the show with new people or kids. I have always made that a point in my latter years of going. It makes it that much more exciting. I digress, the point I’m making is a KISS show is pretty standard with the exception of the stage sets that change and maybe an added feature like the huge screen they used for this concert.
As a fan you get used to it but for the most part their setlists and stage show hasn’t changed that much though they do promise a whole new stage and show for the up and coming Monster tour. Anyway, seeing KISS live is always good and if you haven’t you should. You won’t be disappointed. Back to the show at hand, KISS did surprise me with bringing back War Machine. It is an excellent song to see live and was refreshing to hear it after such a long time. KISS rolled into their new single Hell Or Hallelujah and I was actually shocked to see Paul Stanley bring out a slide for the guitar. I never saw KISS do that live and here I am thinking they were predictable. The song went over well, after the show I heard various fans say how much they liked it. It was nice to see fans were open to new music.
Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian
I won’t get into the Tommy Thayer posing as Ace debate here, but they did do Shock Me with Tommy on vocals. The key here is what KISS has added to the live show, like breathing fire and flying, Eric and Tommy doing a solo jam. To me it is one of the highlights of the show and an interesting aspect of what they do live. How often do you hear KISS get involved in a jam? Fan reaction was very positive as well. The show was well paced and a typical KISS-like performance.
Photo By: Seth A. Kahaian
As stated, when you see a double bill you get screwed in the setlist or number of songs they play. I’m not sure KISS even hit the 90 minute mark they promised. They debuted Got To Choose this night and that was a special treat. Overall, the show was worth the money and it seems the crowd liked it as well. But if you were taking your kids you might be surprised by Motley Crue’s language during their set versus KISS. It was like going from Rated R to PG 13. Otherwise, a good value for the money.
Not to many bands can open a show like this. It’s always like the first time when I see them. Love this!
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