Concert Report: KISS in Tacoma!

KATS listener & KISS ticket winner Kevin Vasquez enjoyed a rock show for the ages this past Saturday night, and he was kind enough to get us a full-blown concert report, pics! Check it out below!

Music throughout our world has always been able to bring people together and nothing does the job as well as Rock n' Roll. With no opening act, and more than an hour late to stage, the packed Tacoma dome was groaning into plastic cups of heady seven-dollar beer. Anticipation was giving way to annoyance as hundreds of peoples' face paint ran down their sweaty cheeks. Suddenly the lights drop, and the crowd is instantly silent for a full three seconds, before erupting into a cheering madness. The gigantic curtain with KISS printed on it is ripped away as three platforms lower from the light fixtures, each platform supporting the monstrous boots of a living legend! The guitars wailed out the intro to Detroit Rock City as the three platforms touchdown simultaneously with the heavy drums pounding out, lifted fifteen feet above the stage.   

This was, literally, just the beginning. KISS played everything the average fan would hope for and then some. They claimed their goal of the evening was to take us on a tour of their expansive catalogue, and they delivered. Large screens helped ensure everyone had a good view of the action as the dome turned red for God of Thunder with Gene Simmons lifted into the rafters to spew blood down his chin and armor. Paul Stanley held on to a motorized zip-line, pulled over the crowd, to a small platform suspended at eye level with those of us on the upper floor to belt out a couple of classics. Guitar picks rained down on the floor crowd as Tommy Thayer and Gene slowly panned overhead atop massive mechanical arms. Eric Singer rose high above the stage again for an incredible and intense drum solo. Every song ending with massive towers of flames, fireworks and thunderous explosions or lit up with incredible lights and lasers, ensured each moment was a spectacle!

The encore was exactly what everyone had been waiting for and what they had been doing the whole time; rock n' roll all night and party every day! The air was filled with smoke and confetti, fire shot upward and out towards the band and the audience, multi-colored fireworks shot up in front of the plumes of flame as the band joined hands and bowed to the crowd. Then, they turned around so everyone in the audience could see these rock gods standing with the crazed fans that have made them one of the biggest phenomenons in the world. With the energy these four put out on stage, this felt like long and loving farewell. Saying goodbye to more than forty years of anything is not easy, and you could see it in their performance. They love this life. I think a little bit of them is left on the stage as they depart each night. KISS does not disappoint. - Kevin Vasquez