KISS
Cross Insurance Arena
Portland, ME
September 4, 2016

KISS’s Freedom to Rock tour is rolling on, and I was lucky enough to catch two stops! Sunday, September 4th I traveled up to Portland, Maine to see another performance of the “best” band. (See Justin’s coverage of night one here.) Although they don’t need an opener, The Dead Daisies were enlisted to help get the show going.

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The Dead Daisies

The Dead Daisies are an Australian-American rock band featuring a giant pool of talent. David Lowy, Doug Aldrich, Marco Mendoza, John Corabi, and Brian Tichy have all hailed from other big name bands. Just to name a few of their credentials, John Corabi is the former singer of Motley Crue, Brian Tichy played for Ozzy Osbourne, Foreigner, and Billy Idol and Doug Aldrich has played from Whitesnake, Band Moon Rising, and Dio. Needless to say, a band with this much talent, opening up for the “best”, I expected them to be better than your average opening band.

They were everything a super group should be. Since this was my second night, I was not as surprised they were so good, and was really able to watch and listen with interest instead of shock. John looks like a mix of Steven Tyler and Captain Jack Sparrow, and the first night I had a hard time getting passed that. Tonight, I was able to see the showman ooze out of him. He owned the stage, and the crowd. From sing alongs, covers to new songs, this band rocked from start to finish!

Setlist
Midnight Moses
Mexico
Make Some Noise
Fortunate Son
Lock ‘n’ Load
Long Way to Go
Join Together
The Last Time I Saw the Sun
Devil Out of Time
Helter Skelter

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KISS

This “Pyscho Circus” was in full effect. These back to back KISS shows were my first, and I knew what to expect from them. I heard that Paul soared across the stage, and that Gene was a demon with a long tongue and blood. There were going to be costumes, make up, and fireworks. The first night, I felt like I really was at a circus, everywhere I looked, something was exploding, then people started flying, there was fire, and a sword. The stage rose up,the drum kit rose up. Did I mention there were explosions?

My second night, I thought, well I’ve seen this, so it wont be that exciting. I was wrong. For the second night in a row, Paul Stanley (64), walked out on stage in a full face paint and a tight spandex outfit, along with Gene Simmons (67), Tommy Thayer (55) and Eric Singer (58). Starchild, The Demon, The Spaceman and The Catman didn’t look tired, or taxed from the show the night before. They went into the same exact set as the night before, the same pyro, the same antics, without missing a beat. Seeing the same show back to back might seem boring, but the show was so exciting, that it didn’t cross my mind I had just seen it.

Incase you haven’t seen the show, I don’t want to spoil anything for you by giving you a play by play. It really is a sight to see. The guys sound great, and they look great. Paul rolls around the stage like a 20-something year old, while wearing heels, and The Spaceman had some guitar tricks I had never seen before. I could have done without Gene’s pelvic moves to the cute girls in the front row all night, but better to them than me!

Setlist
Detroit Rock City
Deuce
Shout It Out Loud
Do You Love Me
I Love It Loud
Flaming Youth
God of Thunder
Psycho Circus
Shock Me
Cold Gin
Lick It Up
War Machine
Love Gun
Black Diamond
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Beth
The Star-Spangled Banner
Rock and Roll All Nite